Tag: Rodrigo Blankenship

Which Georgia Bulldogs have the most to gain at the NFL Combine?

Ten Georgia Bulldogs were invited to the 2020 NFL Combine. What UGA product has the most to gain?

Ten Georgia Bulldogs were invited to the 2020 NFL Combine, with the notable snub of defensive lineman Tyler Clark. Clark was a key part of a defensive front that didn’t give up a touchdown to a running back in the entirety of the 2019 season. Clark additionally helped UGA have the top rated scoring defense in the country.

The NFL Combine will go on without Clark. Overall, 337 players were invited. Here’s the ten UGA players who got the invite:

  • Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship
  • Wide receiver Lawrence Cager
  • Quarterback Jake Fromm
  • Running back Brian Herrien
  • Offensive lineman Solomon Kindley
  • Safety JR Reed
  • Running back D’Andre Swift
  • Offensive lineman Andrew Thomas
  • Tight end Charlie Woerner
  • Offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson

Georgia has five players who are projected to go in the first fifty picks on the draft. Some teams (Broncos, Rams) aren’t putting as much on the NFL Combine as they used to. Still, it is an event where players are comparable with each other and will inevitably have some standouts.

NFL coaches have specific measurements and times they look for at each position and if a player doesn’t meet these, then they may take them off their draft board. So which Georgia Bulldogs have the most to gain at the 2020 NFL Combine?

Charlie Woerner, Jake Fromm, Lawrence Cager, and D’Andre Swift are my candidates to boost their stocks the most.

Woerner was an excellent blocking tight end at UGA and may be able to carve out that role in the NFL. Woerner can separate himself as the best blocking tight end if he can score well on bench press and put together a good ten yard split in his forty yard dash.

Swift should put together an excellent forty time, which should be better than the other elite running backs. He can make a case as a first round pick with a sub 4.4 forty.

For Cager it is simple: run a decent forty yard dash to show he has some higher-end speed to get separation in the NFL and come back with a clean medical report on his shoulder.

Jake Fromm will get a chance to show off his underrated athleticism at the combine. If he can show teams that he has the physical traits to succeed, then they should already admire his intangibles and football IQ.

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Ten Georgia football alumni invited to NFL Combine

The Georgia Bulldogs will be well represented at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.

The Georgia Bulldogs will be well represented at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.

Ten Dawg lettermen will attempt to turn the heads of NFL scouts and coaches across a series of drills and exercises, all conducted between February 27 and March 2 in Indianapolis.

Today, the NFL released a list of all 337 players invited. Representing the Silver Britches will be (in alphabetical order):

  • Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship
  • Wide receiver Lawrence Cager
  • Quarterback Jake Fromm
  • Running back Brian Herrien
  • Offensive lineman Solomon Kindley
  • Safety JR Reed
  • Running back D’Andre Swift
  • Offensive lineman Andrew Thomas
  • Tight end Charlie Woerner
  • Offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson

With several surprising early draft declarations, Georgia is ranked among the top three in number of prospects invited per school.

The only school that matches Georgia’s number of participants is Alabama  and the only school with more participants than both is LSU.

Good luck to every Dawg at the Combine. The Bulldog Nation is rooting for you.

Broncos spoke with kicker Rodrigo Blankenship at Senior Bowl

The Broncos spoke with Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship after a Senior Bowl practice this week.

The Denver Broncos spoke with Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship after a Senior Bowl practice on Jan. 21, according to Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com. Blankenship is widely considered one of the top kickers in this year’s NFL draft class.

After converting 27-of-33 field goal attempts as a senior, he earned All-SEC first-team honors from the Associated Press in 2019 and won the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation’s top placekicker.

During his four years as the Bulldogs’ kicker, Blankenship was a perfect 200-of-200 on extra point attempts and converted 82.5 percent of his field goal attempts (80-of-97), accounting for 440 points.

He kicked in four different bowl games, including the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship. Blankenship converted a 51-yard field goal in overtime of that national championship game but Georgia went on to lose to Alabama 26-23.

Last summer, the Broncos signed kicker Taylor Bertolet in the spring but he didn’t even make it through training camp before being cut.

Brandon McManus probably isn’t in danger of losing his job but Denver might bring in some competition this summer. McManus converted 29-of-34 field goal attempts and 25-of-26 extra point attempts in 2019.

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Twitter reacts: UGA’s Rodrigo Blankenship wins Lou Groza Award

Georgia Bulldog kicker Rodrigo Blankenship won the Lou Groza Award over Iowa’s Keith Duncan and Washington State’s Blake Mazza.

Georgia Bulldog kicker Rodrigo Blankenship won the Lou Groza Award over Iowa’s Keith Duncan and Washington State’s Blake Mazza. Rodrigo Blankenship won the Lou Groza fan vote thanks to Bulldog fans.

Blankenship made all 44 of his extra points on the season. He went 25-31 on field goals with a long of fifty yards. Bulldog fans will miss him, but he likely has a career at the next level in the NFL. He will leave Athens as the Georgia’s all-time leading scorer.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Rodrigo winning the award:

Not everybody was happy with Rodrigo winning the Award:

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Beloved Georgia football player accepts Senior Bowl invitation

Highly-respect Georgia football kicker Rodrigo Blankenship accepts Senior Bowl invitation

The Reese’s Senior Bowl, one of the most prestigious post-season scouting games for NFL Draft prospects, has extended an invitation to Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.

‘Hot Rod’ accepted the offer Tuesday, becoming the first Bulldog kicker in over 10 years to represent Georgia in the event.

Blankenship is currently a perfect 198/198 on extra points for the Dawgs and 78/95 on field goal attempts. Though his numbers may have slightly dipped from his outstanding sophomore season, the beloved place kicker is still one of, if not the best in the nation right now.

No matter what happens in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor, everyone can agree Georgia will certainly miss this Damn Good Dawg.

Georgia opens as favorite in Sugar Bowl vs Baylor

The Georgia Bulldogs and the Baylor Bears will meet on January 1st for the 2020 Sugar Bowl. See the opening spread for the Dawgs here.

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The Georgia Bulldogs lost a tough one this past Saturday, falling to LSU in the SEC Championship by a score of 37-10.  The Dawgs have lost SEC Championships two years in a row, and have dropped from #4 in the CFP rankings to #5 yet again.  Oklahoma jumped to the #4 spot after their Big 12 Championship win over Baylor.

The Dawgs will play in the Sugar Bowl for a 2nd straight year and open as 7.5 point favorites over the Baylor Bears.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 1:45 p.m.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.

Most teams in the college football world would kill for a chance to play in the Sugar Bowl, but for Dawgs fans it feels like more of a consolation game than anything.  Last year hit a little bit harder due to dropping after an incredible game against Alabama in the SEC Championship.

Georgia opened the Sugar Bowl last year to Texas as two touchdown favorites, but we all know how that went.

Georgia will be without some key contributors, including Dominick Blaylock, Lawrence Cager and possibly a few starters who are headed to the pros  Hopefully Kirby Smart and the Dawgs can pull out an impressive victory and go into next season with a chip on their shoulder and smile on their faces.

The Sugar Bowl kicks off at 8:45 p.m. on New Years Day in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, and will be airing on ESPN.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Rodrigo Blankenship wins Lou Groza Fan Vote

UGA kicker Rodrigo Blankenship won the fan vote for the kicking award.

The Lou Groza award goes out annually to the best kicker in college football. As part of the voting process, a fan vote is collected, and whoever wins that is given an extra vote on the final ballot count.

This year, to the surprise of no one, Georgia kicker and fan favorite Rodrigo Blankenship took home the fan vote.

Blankenship has been consistent all year for the Dawgs and hopes to have a big impact in the upcoming SEC Championship Game. Let’s hope this extra vote on the final ballot will help him bring home the award.

Georgia football K Rodrigo Blankenship wins another prestigious SEC award

Georgia football K Rodrigo Blankenship has won yet another prestigious SEC award.

Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship has earned yet another prestigious SEC award.

On Thursday, it was announced that Blankenship had been named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football.

Blankenship is Georgia’s fourth winner of this award. David Greene (2004), Aaron Murray (2013) and Chris Conley (2014) are Georgia’s previous recipients.

With a 3.71 GPA, Blankenship graduated cum laude with a degree in Digital and Broadcast Journalism in 2018 and is currently working toward a master’s degree in journalism.

Blankenship is the school’s all-time leading score, a record he broke this season, and the conference’s second all-time leader in points scored.

He has been named the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week six times this season.

Georgia football’s Rodrigo Blankenship named Lou Groza Award finalist

Georgia Bulldog all-time leading scorer Rodrigo Blankenship has been named a Lou Groza finalist along with Blake Mazza and Keith Duncan.

Georgia Bulldog all-time leading scorer Rodrigo Blankenship has been named a Lou Groza Award finalist. The Lou Groza Award is give annually to the nation’s top kicker.

Blankenship had a special senior day against Texas A&M, where Brian Herrien gave him the honors of running through the “G”. Blankenship went 4-4 on the day in wet, rainy conditions including a 49 yard long. The Bulldogs may not have won 19-13 without him.

The other finalist for the Lou Groza Award are: Iowa’s Keith Duncan and Washington State’s Blake Mazza. Who’s going to win the award?

UGA’s Rodrigo Blankenship is 23 out of 26 on the season and has made all 36 of his extra points. Blankenship sports a long of 50 yards, but is 3-4 on tries fifty yards and longer. Blankenship owned up to his painful miss against South Carolina. Each of his misses are forty yards or longer. Only ten of Blankenship’s field goals have been returned this season.

Iowa’s Keith Duncan is 27 out of 32 on the season. Duncan leads the nation in field goals and is perfect on his 22 point after tries. Duncan has a long of 49 yards on the season.

Washington State’s Blake Mazza has made 18 of his 19 field goals on the season. Mazza has a long of 51 yards and his 94.7% accuracy rate is the NCAA’s best for any kicker with multiple field goals from over 50 yards. Mazza has attempted just four field goals beyond forty yards.

Georgia fans will think Blankenship should win the Lou Groza Award, but there’s still a couple of weeks left for Georgia (but not for the Iowa Hawkeyes or Washington State Cougars). Blankenship has some big-kicks ahead of him. Bulldog fans will be able to vote for Blankenship to win the award very soon.

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Kirby Smart: “What Rodrigo has overcome is a story for the ages”

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart discusses how amazing UGA K Rodrigo Blankenship’s Bulldog career has been.

In Kirby Smart’s post-game presser tailing Saturday’s home win over Texas A&M, the coach used his opening remarks to congratulate Georgia’s newest career leader in points, Rodrigo Blankenship.

Blankenship, who also has the highest career field goal percentage of any Bulldog past or present, was flawless against the Aggies and scored 13 of the Dawgs’ 19 points on senior night.

It’s strange to think that the most automatic placekicker in school history didn’t start out on scholarship.

“What Rodrigo has done and overcome is a story for the ages,” Smart said.

Blankenship arrived in Athens as a preferred walk-on, meaning he had a semi-promised scholarship that would be awarded by the end of one season should he progress as the coaches hope.

He did his job, a scholarship still wasn’t awarded, and his dad wrote an open letter addressing the coaching staff that Georgia fans still remember.

The kicker responded by keeping his head down, persisting, and consequently earning his scholarship.

Smart continued:

 “To be a walk-on, to not getting a scholarship, to continue to work, to get a scholarship, and to continue to grind and be as consistent as he has been in some of the toughest conditions you can ask a kicker to kick…he’s just been tremendous.”

The senior out of Sprayberry High School has long been a fan favorite for the obvious football-related rationale. He is, as Smart later remarked, a “weapon.”

His habits of donning rec specs and lacing up the same Nike Mercurial cleats he’s worn since his high school soccer days have earned him fans nationwide for more frivolous reasons.

Blankenship’s tenacity, positive attitude, and grit should earn him even more.