Rodrigo Blankenship was impressive most of last season having completed 20 of 23 field goal attempts, including a career-long 55-yard field goal against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.
The Marietta native did not miss an extra point, and 67 of his 94 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks, making for a Georgia record.
Blankenship kicked off the 2018 season right, at least in the first three games.
As reported in The Red & Black, Blankenship missed a 49-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter and had a 36-yard attempt blocked in the fourth quarter of the Missouri game. On the opening kickoff of the second half, for the first time this season, his kickoff did not result in a touchback.
“It may have been highlighted in that game [against Missouri] for some individuals, or maybe as a team collectively, but I think just, as a whole, the whole team, every single player on this team has things they can do to get better,” Blankenship said. “It was just a little bit more so for myself in that game. I realized that what I've been doing so far isn't quite good enough, and I still need to get better.”
Against Tennessee on Saturday, Blankenship showed as he completed his only field goal attempt, a 43-yard kick in the second quarter, and all seven of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.
“The first thing [the kickers] do every practice, after we have our team flex and everything, we go up to our top field and we hit some no-steps,” Blankenship said. “That's what that kick was—you don't get to take any steps, you're just already planted next to the ball, and you just gotta kick it.”
Blankenship is currently 116 of 116 in extra point tries.
“Just trying to treat every kick with the respect and attention to detail that it deserves, and just trying to go out and take everything one step at a time,” Blankenship said. “I'm just trying to take it one rep at a time and worry about all the streaks and records at the end of the day, a little bit later on.”
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