Jack Podlesny wins SEC Special Teams Player of the Week
Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after making all three of his field goal attempts, plus three PATs as well, on Saturday against Kent State. On the season, the junior out of St. Simons Island, Ga. has made eight of his nine attempts through four games.
Podlesny made 22 of his 27 field goal attempts last season including a season-long 49-yarder in the College Football Playoff Championship Game against Alabama. He also had a stellar showing in a top-10 win over Arkansas that season, making all three of his attempts that day. This is however the first time that Podlesny has won SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and the first Georgia player to do so since Jake Camarda won the weekly award twice in 2020.
This marks the Bulldogs’ third SEC weekly award this season. Following the win over No. 11 Oregon, senior safety Christopher Smith was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week. Then, sophomore tight end Brock Bowers was named the Offensive Player of the Week following Georgia’s victory at South Carolina.
“I’ll open with a lot of respect for Kent State going into the game and just as much respect coming out of it. I thought they were a good football team, very disciplined, very physical. A really good brand of football,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the Bulldogs’ win over Kent State on Saturday. “I always tell our kids you turn on the special teams tape on Sunday and you find out who you’re playing. We thought they were a really good football team and they proved that today. We also played the entire game without punting the ball once. Really had four turnovers when you consider the fake punt included on that. You’re not going to grow up and mature…this was a growth week for us. We really talked about growth the entire week. I was very pleased with how our guys approached the practice and the games and the leadership. I was really proud of how we came out in the second half and got a three and out then the offense made a great drive all the way down but just didn’t cash it in for a touchdown. We got some costly penalties and turnovers that hurt us. But our team got better today. That was the key for me to say, did our team get better today and I can honestly say we played a good opponent and we got better.”
Georgia, ranked No. 1 in the country according to both the AP and Coaches poll, is back in action this week and on the road traveling to Missouri. The game against the Tigers kicks off a stretch of seven straight SEC games for the Bulldogs between now and the final week of the regular season when they’ll take on Georgia Tech. Kickoff time Saturday from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
