Simons, did you ever go to Georgia-Florida games when you were young? There was a lot of pressure following in his footsteps.įrierson: Growing up on St. I remember when they'd say Rodrigo Blankenship (over the PA system) and everyone would go nuts. He played with Jake Fromm, and he still got the loudest cheers on Saturdays. Podlesny: He was the guy for Georgia football. 1 driving factor.įrierson: What was it like to follow Rodrigo as Georgia's kicker? Because he wasn't just a great kicker, he was a cult figure that got the biggest cheers every time his name was mentioned. I want them to settle down in a house on Bald Head - that's my No. I want to buy a house on Bald Head for my parents. I now love it, but the NFL's never been a dream of mine, and I think that's helped my success. I didn't love football when I first got here - I didn't love football until, like, the beginning of last year. Podlesny: Because it relates to this: my goal has never been to play in the NFL. We actually always traveled to North Carolina (to Bald Head Island) when we went on vacation.įrierson: Would you like to, if you can, have a place at St.

The water, I'm sure you've seen it, is brown, no waves, nothing. Funny enough, I rarely visited the beach besides walking my dogs. Things never worked out, and then I started to like it even more come senior year and never wanted to leave. I had it all figured out, and I told myself, I'm going to hate it here so that it's easy to leave. My goal was to move out of the house my junior or senior year and live with my aunt and uncle in North Carolina so I could get in-state tuition at UNC. I wanted to leave so badly in high school. Podlesny: I didn't appreciate it until I left for college. He also found a great hack to my question about traveling on somebody else's dime.įrierson: What was it like to grow up in St. Podlesny is smart, thoughtful, conscientious, and the latest in a long line of talented Georgia kickers.ĭuring a Quick Chat after practice Tuesday, he talked about growing up in a vacation destination, where he wants to be in 10 years, the challenge of taking over for the beloved Rodrigo Blankenship, his new dog, how taking the wrong bus led to him following a different path at Georgia, and much more.

Simons Island, Ga., was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William V.Campbell Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's top football scholar-athlete. His life also changed thanks to taking the wrong UGA bus, as he'll explain below.Įarlier this week, it was announced that Podlesny, a senior from St. Instead, Podlesny aspires to a much different position, being in charge of UNICEF, the United Nations agency that provides aid to disadvantaged children all over the world. Unlike most of his teammates, he doesn't dream of playing in the NFL. The Georgia kicker wasn't all that into football until he got to college and walked on with the Bulldogs.

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