ATHENS — Georgia football kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was named the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday.

Blankenship drilled field goals of 50 yards, 34 yards, and 27 yards as the No. 3 Bulldogs pulled away for a 43-14 win at Tennessee last Saturday night.

Blankenship leads the SEC with 11.6 points per game and he’s tied for No. 2 in the nation with 2.20 field goals per game. Blankenship is also the nation’s top scoring kicker with 60 points through five games, and his 371 career points and 64 successful field goals rank fourth in UGA history. 

Blankenship is 179-for-179 on extra-point kicks and 64-of-75 on field goals, including 11-of-11 this season.  The senior from Marietta is also 5-of-6 on field goal attempts of 50 or more yards.

UGA coach Kirby Smart was jokingly asked at the press conference if he was ready to start a campaign for Blankenship to win the Heisman Trophy.

“I’m ready to start now, I mean, Hot Rod does a great job, he does everything he’s asked,” Smart said. “He’s a great leader for our team, and he’s very consistent. He has an approach to the game and an approach to his method of doing things that is unique to him. He believes in it.

“We trust him a lot, and he’s been a tremendous leader, you know, just in this room with our team because people see how hard Rod works. So it’s an honor to have him on here, and he works really hard.”

Monday’s honor marks the fifth time in Blankenship’s career that he’s been named the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week.

In addition to the two occasions this season — after wins against Vanderbilt and Notre Dame — he was recognized after wins at South Carolina last season and at Kentucky in 2016.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart

 

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