Scholarship in hand, Blankenship redeems himself
Radi Nabulsi
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Rodrigo Blankenship had been in this position before.
Coming off a missed field goal, Georgia called on the redshirt sophomore a third time late in Saturday’s game against Notre Dame with 3:34 to play and the Bulldogs trailing by two points.
Blankenship didn’t flinch, hitting a 30-yard field goal that turned out to be the winning points in the Bulldogs’ 20-19 victory over the Fighting Irish.
“Whether I make a kick, or miss a kick, I have to do my best to make sure I approach each the exact same way,” Blankenship said. “That’s how you get consistent with it, whether it’s a 52-yarder or an extra point. You have to treat every kick the exact same way.”
Head coach Kirby Smart has apparently liked what he’s seen.
After beating out David Marvin for the starting job in fall camp, on Friday, Smart rewarded Blankenship with a scholarship, which the kicker was told to announce to the team in the locker room after Saturday’s victory.
“Rodrigo won the job. He did a great job. He won it, we told him on Friday,” Smart said. “We told him he was getting a scholarship so he could go relax and go play. Rodrigo's earned that. He's a great kid.”
Georgia fans were likely thinking a few different things when Blankenship missed a 44-yard field goal earlier in the game.
But he remained unfazed, confident in the belief that he would receive another opportunity.
“Our team proved last year that we’ve got the ability to drive the ball down,” Blankenship said. “I knew our offense was going to put us in position to win.”
The fact it happened at Notre Dame made the moment that much more special.
“It’s one of the greatest venues in the history of college football,” Blankenship said. "(Coach Scott Fountain) told me in the beginning of the week there’s a lot of tradition, a lot of history at this place, so it was just an amazing experience. To be able to put the game-winning points on the board for my team was incredible.”
