Rodrigo Blankenship Named Groza Award Semifinalist

ATHENS - Georgia senior place-kicker Rodrigo Blankenship has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2019 Lou Groza Award, which is given to the nation’s top kicker.
 
Blankenship is the only three-time semifinalist included and one of three kickers from the Southeastern Conference on the list.
 
Blankenship, a native of Marietta, Ga., is second in the league in scoring this year, averaging 9.5 points per game, and has connected on 15-of-17 field goal attempts and all 31 of his PATs.  The four-time 2019 SEC Special Teams Player of the Week has drilled three 50-yard field goals during his team’s 7-1 start.  He is the FBS active leader by 12 with a total of 68 made field goals.
 
The former walk-on who earned a 2018 UGA undergraduate degree is a 2019 CBS Sports/Athlon Midseason All-American.  Blankenship has connected on a school record 185 consecutive PATs, which ranks second in SEC history.  Thanks in large part to his contribution, Georgia leads the nation with 276 PATs in a row dating back to 2014.
 
Honors have already begun to roll in for Blankenship.  He has earned one of the National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar Athlete Awards and is a finalist for the Campbell Trophy; he is a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy; and he is a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy.
 
The No. 6 Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1 SEC) play host to Missouri (5-3, 2-2) on Dooley Field in Sanford Stadium this Saturday.  ESPN will televise the game at 7 p.m.