Replacing Rodrigo: The latest on UGA’s search for a new placekicker
There’s one less pair of spectacles on the Georgia football team this year.
Placekicker Rodrigo Blankenship departed for the NFL after a career that transformed him into a fan favorite in Athens. Junior punter Jake Camarda won’t hear his buddy get the loudest cheer during introductions at games this fall, and his presence is being missed in the locker room as well.
“He just brought something different every single day,” Camarda said. “He was always so focused on his craft and he was very particular about a lot of the things that he did, and that’s what made him so good.”
For the first time since before the 2016 season, the Bulldogs have a placekicking competition.
Right now, it appears to be a four-man race. That’s how many players kicked during the Bulldogs’ first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday.
The only kicker Smart mentioned by name after the scrimmage was freshman Jared Zirkel. The Texas native comes to Athens as the fifth-rated kicking prospect in the Class of 2020.
Camarda praised Zirkel’s maturity, saying he’s handled the transition to college life very well. He certainly has the talent to handle the kicking duties for four years like his predecessor.
Even though he’s exclusively punted in his first two years in Athens, Camarda said he’s also thrown his hat in the ring for the placekicking job. Performing both tasks is something he did in high school, allowing him to more easily handle both should he be called upon.
It’s fairly uncommon for a player to kick and punt in college, although it’s not unheard of. Austin Seibert did both for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2015-18, and he finished his career as the FBS career scoring leader for a kicker with 499 points.
“I would like to be the field goal guy. I’m competing to be the field goal guy,” Camarda said. “But also at the end of the day, if the coaches think it’s a better idea for someone else, they think it’s smarter or this or that, that’s all right. That’s going to be best for the team, so I’m with that too.”
Kicking competitions are different from other position battles because they are so binary. You either make, or you miss. With that comes a heightened pressure on every kick, particularly when so many people are fighting for one job.
However, Camarda said the Bulldogs are trying to avoid that. They know that whoever ends up seizing the starting role will have the full support of his teammates.
“Nobody’s putting too much pressure on each other because everybody wants to compete, everybody wants the job, but at the end of the day, let’s say somebody doesn’t get the job. We want that next guy to do well for the team,” Camarda said.
Whether it’s himself, Zirkel or someone else like junior Brooks Buce or redshirt sophomore Jack Podlesny, Camarda believes Georgia will be in good hands in the kicking department. It won’t be the same as having Blankenship on the team, but that won’t mean it can’t be just as good.
“We’re not necessarily focused on what he accomplished,” Camarda said. “We’re kind of focused on what we can accomplish moving forward.”
Georgia football on TV
Four kickoff times were announced Tuesday for Georgia’s 10-game SEC schedule.
Georgia’s 2020 season opener Sept. 26 at Arkansas will kick off at 4 p.m. and be televised on the SEC Network. The home opener vs. Auburn on Oct. 3 is a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
The Bulldogs’ Oct. 17 game at Alabama has an 8 p.m. kickoff on CBS. Georgia’s annual clash vs. Florida in Jacksonville will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 7, also on CBS.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 10:12 AM.