Blankenship was born in Marietta, Georgia to Ken and Izabella Blankenship. After spending several years playing soccer, he began kicking footballs at ten years old. Blankenship attended Sprayberry High School. As a high schooler, he participated in the 2014–15 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was ranked by 247sports.com as the ninth-best kicker in the country.
College career
Blankenship entered Georgia in 2015 as a preferred walk-on and red-shirted his first year. As a red-shirt freshman, Blankenship earned the starting kicker spot. During the 2016 season, Blankenship was 14-for-18 on field goals and 26-for-26 on extra points. He led the team in scoring and was named to the All-SEC Freshman team. In 2017 – his redshirt sophomore season – Blankenship received a full athletic scholarship. He informed the team of the positive news after Georgia's 20–19 victory over Notre Dame. In the 2018 Rose Bowl, Blankenship made a record-long 55-yard field goal that proved pivotal in shifting the momentum away from Oklahoma, leading to Georgia's eventual 54–48 overtime victory. In the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship game against Alabama, Blankenship hit a 51-yard field goal in overtime to put the Bulldogs temporarily ahead. However, Georgia ultimately lost the national championship game, 26–23. Blankenship finished the 2017 season having made 20 of his 23 field goal tries and all 63 extra points attempts. By making 87 percent of his field goals attempts, Blankenship had the sixth-best season in school history. His 67 touchbacks – a dramatic improvement over his 20 touchbacks in 2016 – were also a school record, and they came after he adjusted his technique on kickoffs. In July2018, Blankenship was selected for the preseason All-SEC First Team. During the 2018 season, he went 19-for-23 on field goal attempts and made all 65 of his extra point attempts. Following the 2018 regular season, Blankenship was named to the All-SEC Second Team. In December 2019, Blankenship won the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation's top placekicker. He also was honored as a member of the SEC Football Community Service Team.
Blankenship's father, Ken, played football at Florida from 1967 to 1969. Ken coached the kickers on every team for which Rodrigo played from fifth grade through the end of high school. While at Georgia, Blankenship studied digital and broadcast journalism, with a particular focus on sports journalism. On April 16, 2018, Blankenship released a rap song entitled "ATD."
