Blankenship commented that having the All-American kicker around was incredible. As an aspiring NFL kicker, he enjoyed learning from Butler.
“He’s awesome. It was incredible to have him with us and to be able to learn from one of the best kickers in college and NFL history,” Blankenship said. “It can never be a bad thing to have the opportunity to learn from someone like that. Having him out there at practice and at games to pick his brain and talk shop with him was an incredible opportunity that all the specialists have had. Some of the things he has imparted on us in terms of technique and mentally training and preparing us for games each week is something we are going to hold onto for a long time.”
While helping with the kickers, Butler’s touchback record got demolished by what Blankenship did. In 2017, Blankenship kicked 67 touchbacks trumping Butler’s previous 51 touchbacks.
Blankenship is on pace to match those numbers or surpass it as he’s 15-15 on touchbacks in two games.