Jack Podlesny on pressure, Kirby Smart's visor, and more

MOBILE, Ala. – So, you think kicking in front of a bunch of NFL scouts can be nerve-wracking? Try kicking in practice every day in front of Kirby Smart.

Former Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny joked that both can be fairly difficult.

“Kicking in front of the scouts is kind of like kicking in front of Kirby who is on a microphone, there’s just as much pressure, maybe even a little less sometimes,” Podlesny said. “I just tell myself I’ve been here before, I’ve done it before, in front of 93,000 fans in Sanford Stadium, so why can’t I do it in front of some scouts?”

Nevertheless, kicking in front of Smart during any number of the Bulldogs’ intense practice sessions can sometimes fray the nerves.

“It’s not so much the yelling, but the hat. He’d always take the visor off and just kind of throw it at me,” Podlesny laughed. “That would get me.”

Turns out, it was probably good training.

When talking to scouts and coaches from the 32 NFL teams attending this week’s Senior Bowl, one of the biggest questions Podlesny receives is how he handles pressure. Does he get nervous?

“They don’t ask specifically about the big kicks, but the adversity you’ve faced and what pressure you’ve faced, what situations you’ve had, whether it’s football-related or not,” Podlesny said. “They want to know how I deal with it, whether it’s a low point, whether it’s a high point in my career. How I get through that is a big thing for them.”

During his Georgia career, Podlesny made plenty of big kicks for the Bulldogs.

His 53-yarder to beat Cincinnati on the game’s final play in the 2021 Peach Bowl was certainly memorable. Last year, Podlesny converted 26 of his 31 field goals and leaves Georgia having made good on 61 of his 73 tries.

However, no matter how many kicks he’s made, nerves still play a role.

“The pressure is there,” he said. “If you’re not nervous, it means the situation is not important to you. So, being nervous for me is a good thing. Because I care about it, it means that it matters.”

Podlesny’s opportunity in Mobile is one not a lot of special team players receive.

Only two kickers, two punters, and two long snappers get to take part. Podlesny knows that he’s blessed to show what he can do.

Washington Commanders assistant special teams coach Ben Jacobs is Podlesny’s position coach on the American team. UCF’s Alex Ward is the long snapper on the squad and Rutgers’ Adam Korsak is the punter.

“(Korsak) is another Australian that I get to deal with, so that’s fun,” Podlesny smiled, referring to Georgia punter Brett Thorson. “He hasn’t met (Thorson), but he knows of him. They’re exactly the same, which is kind of scary.”

Podlesny is the second Bulldog special teamer to play in the Senior Bowl in as many years. Last year, punter Jake Camarda took part before becoming a fourth-round pick of Tampa Bay.

Camarda has already offered him some advice.

“We talk all the time and we actually played golf a few days before I got out here. He said just take it all in because this is an opportunity a lot of guys don’t get,” said Podlesny, whose story of how he came to play football at all is one of the more interesting tales in Mobile.

To refresh, Podlesny was a soccer player before he was convinced to try out for the football team at Glynn Academy in Brunswick.

“When I’ve been doing these interviews with scouts, they always ask me to tell them a story, and I’m telling them about soccer. They say really, you didn’t touch a football till late in high school, and I’d say nope,” he said. “For me, just going back to those days I had no idea this was where I was going to be so it’s pretty awesome with the journey that’s taken me here and the hard work I’ve put it to prepare for us all this.”