University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Ryne Rankin
November 10, 2016 | Football
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Whether it's on a football field or in the woods, Georgia senior linebacker Ryne Rankin spends much of his time outdoors. He wouldn't have it any other way.
An avid outdoorsman and a key special teams contributor during his Bulldog career, Rankin would always rather be doing something outside — preferably hunting with friends and family. He even popped the question outside, proposing in late August to his girlfriend, former cheerleader Makenzie Blalock, on the bridge by Sanford Stadium. She said yes.
On Tuesday, Rankin was inside Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, where he sat down for a quick chat about the outdoors, woodworking, getting engaged and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: When you Google your name, one of the first things that comes up is a photo of you with a big chunk of turf in your mouth. What can you tell me about that?
Rankin: That was Bobby Dodd Stadium. I don't know, I remember when Ben Jones played here he used to rip up their sod and eat it, and my sophomore year when [Georgia Tech] came here they were eating the hedges. I guess it's tradition, whoever wins gets a mouthful of whatever, grass or hedges.
Frierson: One of the other things that comes up is a picture of you getting engaged on the bridge. Where does that moment rank in your life?
Rankin: Oh, it's up there. Probably No. 1, yeah, it is No. 1.
Frierson: How much planning goes into something like that?
Rankin: It took a good bit. I was going to do it the night before, but that was when we [practiced at the Georgia Dome] and we got back late. I did it that next afternoon and it took a while to put it all together.
I had a little map set up of where I was going and where everybody had to hide, because I had my family there and her friends there and my friends there, and I had them all hiding as I walked up with a special photographer while she was blindfolded. It was all set up just right.
Frierson: Did you feel kind of like a spy or something, setting up this big covert operation?
Rankin: The hard part was keeping all of her friends from telling her what was going to happen. I give them all props — her parents, my parents, her friends, my friends — for keeping it on the down-low so she didn't know.
Frierson: What's something from your childhood that you really miss?
Rankin: I miss hunting with my dad. I don't get to hunt with my dad as much as I used to — we used to go hunting all the time — and spending time with him. That was a great experience, getting out in the woods and just going out in the woods and shooting stuff and teaching me a way of life. That's what I miss the most.
Frierson: What's the most creative thing you do? Or what's something creative you wish you could do?
Rankin: The most creative thing I do right now, I've been doing some woodwork. I can build all kinds of stuff, like I've built headboards, beds, desks, signs. I built [strength and conditioning coach Scott Sinclair] this palette cutout of the state of Georgia, with ATD [Attack The Day] letters across it. It's in the weight room.
Frierson: There's got to be a real satisfaction with building something like a piece of furniture that can be used every day and be around for a long time.
Rankin: It's nice. My fiancee, I built her headboard, her desk, I built a big dresser for her; I actually built a vanity mirror for her, I built all kinds of stuff for her.
[To see some of Rankin's impressive work, visit his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/bigranksplanks/?hl=en.]
Frierson: What do you do during the quiet times, away from football and school?
Rankin: I'm in the woods, hunting something. ... I just like being out there; I'll walk my dog around the woods and just ease my mind. I like being in a tree stand — sit up there and think about everything that's going on, talk to God and have a good time.
Frierson: If you could go back and talk to your 18-year-old self that was just arriving at Georgia, what would you tell him?
Rankin: Probably to network more with people on campus, to be honest. My sophomore and junior year I started to network more with people, but when I first came on campus I hung out with the football boys and didn't really talk with my classmates that much.
Now, in my senior year, I'm about to graduate, my life's fixing to hit. I'm engaged, I'm getting married, I've got three more games left, four more games left, and I wish I'd networked more and gotten to know more people. I'm grateful that I finally kicked that in and met some more people.
Frierson: What's it feel like when the end of your football career is coming at you pretty fast? How are you handling this final month or so?
Rankin: Truly, I'm embracing it all and just having fun with it. I mean, every time the Redcoat Band starts playing the fourth quarter song I'm looking around at the fans and thinking, wow, I'm really blessed to be here. I'm just trying to embrace everything and know that I gave it my all.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
