Former Georgia Bulldogs star kicker Rodrigo Blankenship has won the starting kicker job for the Indianapolis Colts over incumbent Chase McLaughlin. Blankenship will make his NFL debut Sept. 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Blankenship went undrafted in April’s NFL Draft but was quickly signed by the Indianapolis Colts.
Blankenship had a distinguished career at the University of Georgia. He instantly became a fan favorite after hitting a game-winning field goal at Kentucky in 2016. He went on to win the prestigious Lou Groza Award as a senior.
Blankenship earned a $20,000 signing bonus from the Colts according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The Colts don’t have a back up kicker on their practice squad indicating their confidence in Hot Rod. Blankenship, like all NFL kickers will have pressure on every kick, even extra points, since they are longer (33 yards) nowadays.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the new of Blankenship taking the starting role in Indianapolis:
Passing of the torch🐐 pic.twitter.com/0v7Vc1HNs2
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 5, 2020
Hot Rod Kicker #1 for the Indianapolis Colts.
— UGA United (@UGAUnited) September 5, 2020
New @Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship is the author of one of the weirdest extra points ever. pic.twitter.com/u257rsaMyT
— SEConCBS (@SEConCBS) September 5, 2020
Undrafted to new Colts' kicker for UGA product. https://t.co/QQ74nElk94
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) September 5, 2020
Something tangentially related to today’s kicking feature: Former UGA kicker Rodrigo Blankenship and I briefly discussed his reunion with QB Jacob Eason on the Colts, and I thought Rodrigo’s response was really sweet: pic.twitter.com/nuLCNKJZMc
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) September 7, 2020
The 🐐 has won the kicking job with the @colts 🙌 pic.twitter.com/q8juOyuKZV
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 5, 2020
On January 26, 1997 Adam Vinatieri kicked in his 1st Super Bowl.
Three days later, Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was born.
— Jake Query (@jakequery) September 6, 2020
