Rodrigo finishes season with 25 kickoffs, 14 touchbacks, 67.2 average
Distances, hang times listed below
Updated through September 30, 2021
Frigid temperatures probably played a role on Jan. 9 in Buffalo as Rodrigo launched five kickoffs for the Colts against the Bills. The rookie from Georgia started the game with a high shot that landed on the Bills’ 10-yard line and bounced nowhere, forcing a Buffalo returner to simply fall on the ball to retain possession.
Rodrigo’s four other kickoffs made the end zone, with one touchback. His hang times were high enough to restrict Buffalo’s return yardage, and for the game the Buffalo offense averaged starting their possessions after kickoffs at the 16.6-yard line.
For the season, Rodrigo had 25 kickoffs, 14 of which earned touchbacks, and his kickoff average distance was 67.2 yards, well below his Georgia averages of 70-plus. Most of the season the Colts’ kickoff specialist was punter Rigoberto Sanchez, but Rodrigo had to step in first because of surgery and later slight injury that affected Sanchez.
Rodrigo’s best kickoff game of the year was at Las Vegas, when he had 7 touchbacks from 8 kickoffs, including his season-best 79-yarder.
Rodrigo caps stellar UGA career with boatload of career kickoff records
Rodrigo drove 5 kickoffs for touchbacks in the Sugar Bowl game on New Year’s Day 2020 in the New Orleans Superdome, including his 89th and 90th that landed beyond the end zone as the Dawgs finished off a 12-2 season with a 26-14 victory over Baylor.
The redshirt senior from Marietta increased his season total for touchbacks to 65, which ranks third all-time in the UGA record book. He also is first and second all-time with his 82 touchbacks in 2018 and his 67 touchbacks in 2017. His four-year total of 234 is also first place all-time, relegating previous record holder Kevin Butler to second place with 169.
Rodrigo’s conventional kickoff touchback percentage for 2019 was 85.5. Including those kickoffs where he was told to kick short, his touchback percentage was 77.4. His conventional kickoff distance average was 72.8 yards, while his average distance for all kickoffs was 71.3 yards. He attempted two onside kickoffs, and neither was recovered by the Bulldogs.
Rodrigo also finishes as the all-time leader in consecutive touchbacks — he had 23 to start the 2018 season. He is also second with 18 in a row in 2017. He is also the all-time single-game touchback leader with 8, achieved three times. His career touchback percentages are 74.1 (conventional only) and 71.6 (all kickoffs).
Game kickoff distances, fall 2020
79 — 1 time
75 — 1 time
74 — 1 time
73 — 1 time
72 — 3 times
70 — 2 times
69 — 2 times
68 — 4 times
67 — 1 time
66 — 2 times
65 — 2 times
64 — 1 time
Best hang times, fall 2020 (unofficial)
4.40, 4.38, 4.34, 4.34, 4.31, 4.28 (2), 4.25, 4.22, 4.21, 4.20, 4.19 (3), 4.13, 4.07 (2), 4.06 (2), 3.97 (2), 3.91 (2).
Game kickoff distances, fall 2019
81 — 1 time
80 — 4 times
79 — 7 times
78 — 5 times
77 — 4 times
76 — 6 times
75 — 4 times
74 — 8 times
73 — 8 times
72 — 5 times
71 — 5 times
70 — 5 times
69 — 1 time
68 — 3 times
Best hang times, fall 2019 (unofficial)
4.59, 4.56, 4.54, 4.50, 4.47, 4.44 (3), 4.40 (3), 4.38, 4.37 (3), 4.34 (5), 4.32 (2), 4.31 (2), 4.29, 4.28 (2), 4.25 (4), 4.22 (4), 4.21, 4.19 (6), 4.16 (6), 4.15, 4.13 (2), 4.12, 4.11, 4.10 (2), 4.09 (3), 4.08, 4.07, 4.03 (2), 4.00 (3), 3.97 (5), 3.96, 3.94, 3.91, 3.87, 3.85, 3.84 (3), 3.75
Game kickoff distances, fall 2018
85 — 1 time
84 — 1 time
82 — 1 time
81 — 4 times
80 — 4 times
79 — 6 times
78 — 6 times
77 — 8 times
76 — 9 times
75 — 2 times
74 — 8 times
73 — 6 times
72 — 4 times
71 — 8 times
70 — 3 times
69 — 5 times
68 — 3 times
67 — 1 time
66 — 4 times
65 — 2 times
64 — 1 time
Best hang times, fall 2018 (unofficial)
4.56, 4.47 (3), 4.44 (5), 4.41 (3), 4.38 (2), 4.37 (3), 4.35 (3), 4.34 (2), 4.32, 4.31 (4), 4.28 (5), 4.25 (7), 4.22 (6), 4.19 (3), 4.16 (6), 4.15 (4), 4.13 (2), 4.12 (4), 4.10 (2), 4.09 (4), 4.07 (2), 4.06 (4), 4.04, 4.03, 4.00, 3.97, 3.94 (3), 3.91, 3.90 (2), 3.87, 3.84 (2), 3.81
Game kickoff distances, fall 2017
81 — 2 times
80 — 5 times
79 — 2 times
78 — 1 time
77 — 6 times
76 — 6 times
75 — 6 times
74 — 7 times
73 — 2 times
72 — 5 times
71 — 3 times
70 — 15 times
69 — 1 time
68 — 5 times
67 — 1 time
Best hang times, fall 2017 (unofficial)
4.72, 4.63, 4.62 (2), 4.60, 4.53, 4.50 (4), 4.47 (3), 4.44 (7), 4.43 (2), 4.40, 4.38 (3), 4.37 (3), 4.35, 4.34 (4), 4.32 (2), 4.31 (6), 4.28 (6), 4.25 (11), 4.22, 4.19 (3), 4.16 (3), 4.15 (5), 4.13 (2), 4.12 (3), 4.10, 4.07, 4.06, 4.04, 4.03 (2), 4.00, 3.96, 3.93, 3.91.
Game kickoff distances, fall 2016
80 — 1 time
77 — 1 time
75 — 2 times
73 — 2 times
72 — 4 times
71 — 2 times
70 — 4 times
Best hang times, fall 2016 (unofficial)
4.59, 4.57, 4.53 (2), 4.50, 4.38 (2), 4.34, 4.31, 4.28 (2), 4.25, 4.24, 4.23, 4.22, 4.21 (3), 4.18 (2), 4.16 (4), 4.15 (2), 4.13 (2), 4.12 (2), 4.09, 4.06 (3), 4.03 (5), 4.00 (2), 3.97 (2), 3.96, 3.94, 3.90 (2).
Game kickoff distances, fall 2014
79 — 2 times
78 — 1 time
77 — 2 times
75 — 4 times
74 — 4 times
73 — 11 times
72 — 6 times
71 — 5 times
70 — 11 times
69 — 6 times
68 — 2 times
67 — 3 times
66 — 1 time
65 — 3 times
64 — 1 time
Best game hang times, fall 2014
4.44, 4.41, 4.35, 4.34, 4.33, 4.32, 4.29, 4.27 (2), 4.26, 4.25, 4.24 (2), 4.23 (2), 4.22 (2), 4.21, 4.20 (3), 4.19 (2), 4.18, 4.17, 4.16 (2), 4.15 (3), 4.14, 4.13 (3), 4.12 (2), 4.10, 4.09, 4.08, 4.07 (2), 4.05 (3), 4.04, 4.03 (2), 4.02, 4.01 (4), 4.00 (2), 3.97 (3), 3.94, 3.91, 3.90 (2), 3.89, 3.88, 3.85, 3.83, 3.77
Game kickoff distances, fall 2013
75 – 3 times
74 – 2 times
73 – 3 times
72 – 4 times
70 – 10 times
69 – 3 times
68 – 8 times
67 – 2 times
66 – 1 time
65 – 4 times
Best game hang times, fall 2013
4.44, 4.37, 4.32 (2), 4.28 (2), 4.25 (3), 4.22, 4.19, 4.18, 4.16 (2), 4.15 (2), 4.14, 4.12 (2), 4.10 (2), 4.09 (2), 4.08, 4.07, 4.06, 4.03 (4), 4.01, 4.00 (3).
Game kickoff distances, fall 2012
74 yards – 1 time
73 yards – 1 time
72 yards – 2 times
71 yards – 5 times
70 yards – 5 times
69 yards – 8 times
68 yards – 9 times
67 yards – 4 times
66 yards – 1 time
65 yards – 3 times
Best game hang times, fall 2012
4.19, 4.10 (2), 4.09 (2), 4.06 (3), 4.03, 4.00 (4), 3.97 (2), 3.94, 3.93, 3.91, 3.90, 3.87 (5), 3.84 (2), 3.81 (2)
best practice kickoff average, college (10 best in the air) — 9.9 yards deep, 6/18/16; 8.5 yards deep, 7/16/16; 7.6 yards deep, 5/25/16
best practice kickoff average (best 10 in the air) – 16.2 yards deep, McCabe charting, 5/11/14; 15.7 yards deep, practice, 4/30/13; 15.5 yards deep, LSU, 6/1/13; 15.2 deep, 9/9/13; 14.5 yards deep, 5/7/13; 14.4 yards deep, 5/6/15, practice; 13.2 yards deep, 5/3/13; 12.8 yards deep, practice, 3/10/13; 12.7 yards deep, practice, 4/23/14; 12.4 yards deep, practice, 11/20/13; 12.4 yards deep, practice, 10/29/13; 12.0 yards deep, practice, 4/20/13; 12.0 yards deep, 5/20/12, Kohl’s; 11.8 yards deep, 5/18/12; 11.7 deep, Ohio State, 6/11/13; 11.6 deep, Sprayberry, 11/6/13; 11.6 deep, Sprayberry, 9/10/12; 11.5 deep, practice, 3/16/13; 11.3 yards deep, practice, 3/22/14; 11.1 yards deep, practice, 4/26/14; 11.0 deep, UGA, 6/6/12; 10.9 yards deep, practice, 7/14/13; 10.8 yards deep, practice, 8/18/13; 10.8 yards deep, Top Gun, 7/20/13; 10.7 yards deep, 5/28/13; 10.7 yards deep (72-72-71-71-71-71-70-70-70-69), 8/12/12, McCabe; 10.2 yards deep, 6/4/12;
Best practice kickoff average against the wind (best 10 in air): 5.2 deep, 7/7/12; 4.5 deep, 5/14/13; 3.0 deep, 12/31/12; 1.1 deep, 5/31/12
Longest kickoff in air, NFL/college/high school ball – 85 (2), 84, 83, 82 (4), 81 (9), 80 (32), 79 (33), 78 (32), 77 (33), 76 (77), 75 (122), 74 (130), 73 (147), 72 (213), 71 (160), 70 (297), 69 (208), 68 (265), 67 (245), 66 (205), 65 (320), 64 (224), 63 (275), 62 (232), 61 (157), 60 (146)
Longest kickoff with roll – 101 yards, practice, 10/30/14; 100 and 99 yards, practice, 4/30/13; 94 yards, 5/26/11, practice; 91 yards, practice, 6/19/11; 88 yards, 1/4/11, Incarnate Word; 85, game, 8/25/11; 85, 1/4/11, Incarnate Word; 83 yards, 4/7/10; 82, 2/6/11; 81 and 80, 6/26/10; 81, 7/14/10; 81, 12/11/10; 81, 1/2/11
Longest kickoff in game, college — 85 vs. Tennessee, 2018; 84 vs. South Carolina, 2018; 82 vs. LSU, 2018; 81 vs. Kentucky, 2018; 81 vs. Florida, 2018; 81 vs. Notre Dame, 9/9/17; 80-80 vs. Kentucky, 2018; 80 vs. Missouri, 2018; 80 vs. Austin Peay, 2018; 80-79 vs. Samford, 9/16/17; 80 vs. Tennessee (hit crossbar), 9/30/17; 80-80-79 vs. Missouri, 10/14/17; 80 vs. Auburn, 11/12/16 (hit crossbar); 78-77-76 vs. Florida, 10/28/17; 77 vs. South Carolina, 10/9/16; 75-72 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 11/19/16; 75 vs. Auburn, 11/12/16; 73 vs. Kentucky, 11/5/16; 73 vs. Florida, 10/29/16; 73-72 vs. Nicholls State, 9/10/16; 72-71 vs. Auburn, 11/12/16; 72 vs. Vanderbilt, 10/15/16.
Longest kickoff in game, high school – 79, Sprayberry vs. Kell, 10/31/14; 79, Sprayberry vs. North Springs, 9/19/14; 78, Sprayberry vs. Woodland-Cartersville, through uprights, 9/12/14; 77, Sprayberry vs. Forsyth Central, 10/17/14; 77, Sprayberry vs. Riverwood, 10/3/14; 75, Sprayberry vs. Cambridge, 10/10/14; 75, Sprayberry vs. Osborne, 11/1/13; 75, Sprayberry vs. North Atlanta, 9/26/14; 75, Sprayberry vs. Riverwood, 10/11/13; 74, Sprayberry vs. Riverwood, through uprights, 10/11/13; 75, Sprayberry vs. Forsyth Central, through uprights, 9/20/13; 74 twice, Sprayberry vs. Woodland-Cartersville, 9/12/14; 74, Sprayberry, through uprights, 10/12/12; 73, Junior Bowl, 12/31/13; 73-72, Sprayberry, 9/20/13; 73, Sprayberry, 9/21/12.
Onsides kickoffs – 37 attempted, 13 recovered through 1/8/19.
Touchbacks –
2008 — none;
2009 — 1 (vs. Kell);
2010 – 6 (2 vs. Kell, 2 vs. Wheeler, 1 vs. Pope, 1 vs. Milton), 7 other kickoffs in end zone and run out, 4 of those in Texas;
2011 – 25 (5 vs. Marietta ninth grade; 4 vs. Campbell varsity, 2 vs. Roswell varsity, 2 vs. Centennial 9th, 1 vs. Etowah varsity, 5 vs. Lassiter 9th, 2 vs. Roswell 9th; 1 vs. Wheeler varsity, 3 vs. Canada in Alamodome)
2012 — 50 (2 vs.Campbell, 1 vs. Wheeler, 2 vs.Kennesaw Mountain, 1 vs.Roswell JV, 2 vs. Lassiter, 7 vs. Wheeler JV, 4 vs. Walton JV, 5 vs. Forsyth Central, 2 vs. Lassiter JV, 4 vs. Sequoyah, 2 vs. Kell JV, 2 vs. Milton JV, 5 vs. Riverwood, 3 vs.Pope, 3 vs. Kell, 4 vs. Osborne, 1 vs. Sequoyah)
2013 — 45 (4 vs. Campbell, 3 vs. Wheeler, 4 vs. Kennesaw Mountain, 2 vs. Lassiter, 7 vs. Forsyth Central, 2 vs. Sequoyah, 5 vs. Milton JV, 4 vs. Riverwood, 4 vs. Pope, 2 vs. Kell, 4 vs. Osborne, 2 vs. Creekview, 2 vs. East/Junior Bowl)
2014 — 61 (5 vs. North Paulding, 2 vs. South Paulding, 4 vs. Kennesaw Mountain, 9 vs. Woodland-Cartersville, 6 vs. North Springs, 8 vs. North Atlanta, 4 vs. Riverwood, 6 vs. Cambridge, 5 vs. Forsyth Central, 3 vs. Kell, 5 vs. Sequoyah, 3 vs. National/Cobb Senior Bowl, 1 vs. West/U.S. Army All-American Bowl)
2015 — 0 (none attempted; redshirt freshman at UGA).
2016 — 20 (Nicholls State 4, Mississippi 2, South Carolina 2, Vanderbilt 3, Florida 1, Kentucky 3, Auburn 3, UL-Lafayette 1, TCU 1).
2017 — 67 (Appalachian State 5, Notre Dame 1, Samford 7, Mississippi State 6, Tennessee 5, Vanderbilt 5, Missouri 8, Florida 4, South Carolina 3, Auburn 3, Kentucky 4, Georgia Tech 4, Auburn 5, Oklahoma 4, Alabama 3).
2018 — 82 (Austin Peay 8, South Carolina 7, Middle Tennessee State 8, Missouri 7, Tennessee 7, Vanderbilt 7, LSU 3, Florida 6, Kentucky 6, Auburn 5, Massachusetts 5, Georgia Tech 5, Alabama 5, Texas 3).
Rodrigo ends 2017 with school-record 67 touchbacks
Rodrigo’s season-long assault on the Georgia touchback record concluded in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 8 in the national championship game against Alabama with three more touchbacks, increasing the redshirt sophomore’s 2017 total to 67, establishing a Dawgs standard that the Marietta native will try to equal in the 2018 season.
Left far behind as all-time runnerup is Rodrigo’s kicking coach, Kevin Butler, who had 51 touchbacks in 1981.
Rodrigo’s personal goal of doubling his touchback percentage from 36 in 2016 to 72 in 2017 came up just short. Based on his 94 kickoffs, his touchback percentage was 71.3. Rodrigo’s last kickoff of the season was a 75-yard effort, which ordinarily would have been a touchback, hitting on the back line of the end zone.
However, Rodrigo had to kick off from the UGA 20-yard line because of a sideline interference penalty against the Dawgs on the previous play, a touchdown scored by Mecol Hardman. Rodrigo did manage to send the ball to the Alabama 5-yard line, but the penalty denied him a touchback that would have boosted his percentage above 72 percent.
For the season, Rodrigo did manage to keep his kickoff distance average above 70 yards and his hang time average well above 4 seconds. His kickoffs totaled 6,626 yards in the air, an average of 70.5 yards. NCAA distances end at the goal line, so Rodrigo’s official average is 64.2 yards.
Rodrigo had 22 kickoffs that went beyond the end zone and 60 of his kickoffs were at least 70 yards or more. Against Alabama, he registered his all-time best hang time of 4.72 seconds on his first kickoff, and later had a hang time of 4.62 seconds.