Finally getting a scholarship to play football after spending a year trying to kick down a financial door that wouldn’t budge. Then booting a game-winning field goal with just over three minutes to play in one of the more storied venues in any sport.
Yeah, it has been a pretty good couple of days for Georgia’s sophomore kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
Has there been any better stretch in his young life?
“Can’t think of anything off top of my head,” Blankenship said.
It was Blankenship’s 30-yarder with 3:34 left that provided the winning margin in Georgia’s 20-19 victory over Notre Dame here Saturday.
All kind of elements combined to make this a special game week for the Marietta-raised kicker.
For one, after playing last season as a walk-on, his family very open about how badly he needed the scholarship status, Blankenship finally got word from the Georgia coaches just before arriving at Notre Dame that he had earned the free ride.
“It’s a dream come true. Since the day I committed here back in my senior year (at Sprayberry High), it’s been a dream to play for the University of Georgia on scholarship,” Blankenship said.
“Rodrigo did a great job and won (the scholarship),” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. “We told him on Friday. We didn’t want to kid to be thinking he was kicking for a scholarship. We wanted him to be able to relax and play and he did a good.”
“I’m very thankful we did it,” Smart said.
In fact, playing for a scholarship is all Blankenship did last season, and the sport-goggled kicker became something of a fan favorite by making big field goals against Kentucky and Auburn.
No, Blankenship said through a smile, there was no talk of revoking the scholarship after he missed a 44-yarder early in the fourth quarter. He was two-for-three on the night, hitting from 27 and 30 yards. His miss was well struck, but just wide right.
“Specialists have to be very dialed in and focused mentally,” he said. “It’s always nice when you can bounce back from a miss and come through for your team when they need it most.”
Calling Notre Dame Stadium “one of the most prestigious and significant places you can play football in in the country,” Blankenship also will file this experience away because of the venue. If you can make them here, surely you can make them anywhere.
For a kicker who wasn’t quite perfect, this was nonetheless the perfect weekend.
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