Georgia Bulldogs Countdown to Kickoff: 98 Days
The countdown to kickoff has begun as we are less than 100 days to kickoff of the 2022 football season for the Georgia Bulldogs, who take on Oregon September 3rd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. To pass the time before then, DawgsHQ is going to give you a day by day rundown, telling you why that number is important in the program’s history. It could be a player – current or past – that fans have fallen in love with. It could be a game, a play or any number of reasons why that particular day is special in Georgia Football history. We continue today, 98 days away from kickoff, with the No. 98.
No. 98 – Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship (2015-2019)
Rodrigo Blankenship. Hot Rod. What can I say about the man who week in and week out got the loudest cheers from Georgia fans during starting lineup announcements during his career?
Was it the rec specs? Probably. But that’s not all that Blankenship was known for. Time and time again, Blankenship made field goals comfortable for Georgia fans when so many college kickers do the opposite. Over the course of his career in red and black, Blankenship made 80 of his 97 field goal attempts, finishing as the leading scorer in program history with 440 points as well as the all-time leader in field goal percentage at 82.47 percent. It also shouldn’t go unnoticed that Blankenship was a perfect 200-of-200 on PATs, helping Georgia hold the longest such streak in the country for quite some time.
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Blankenship was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2016 as selected by the league’s head coaches. He hit a career-long 55-yard field just before halftime of Georgia’s Rose Bowl win over Oklahoma in the College Football Playoffs, a play that helped turn the tide for the Bulldogs in route to victory. He was named to the All-SEC Second-Team by both the media and coaches in 2018, and in 2019, he was recognized as the top kicker in the country with the Lou Groza Award, also earning All-SEC and All-American honors in the process.
As a key part of the winningest senior class in program history when they left – both on and off the field – Blankenship holds a special place in the heart of Georgia fans. He started his career as a walk-on. He finished it as a legend. And for that, he’s recognized on day No. 98 of our Georgia Bulldogs Countdown to Kickoff.
