ATHENS, Ga. --- Blair Walsh spent part of his day off from the Georgia football team Sunday trying to get his groove back.

The freshman kicker went to the Woodruff practice fields with teammate Ty Frix and booted about 35 balls in hopes of improving his form after missing two of three field goal tries in Saturday's 49-10 loss to Florida.

"I usually don't kick on Sundays, but I was motivated to kick," Walsh said. "I wanted to just go out there and make some."

Walsh isn't Georgia's first freshman kicker to struggle in his first game against Florida.

Kevin Butler missed an extra point and his only field goal try -- from 42 yards -- in 1981 in a five-point loss to the Gators. But he went on to become the only kicker in the College Football Hall of Fame.

The Bulldogs' loss Saturday left Georgia with slim hopes of getting to the SEC title game.

"If you're going to kick for four years, you're going to have some good games and bad games," said Butler, who spoke to Walsh on the field in Jacksonville, Fla., after the game. "There's a lot going on. It's a hyped-up game. You learn from those type of games, and I think that's where Blair is certainly going to thrive, because I've always liked his confidence and his demeanor."

After making 10 of his first 12 kicks, with both misses coming from beyond 50 yards, Walsh has made just three of his past eight.

"I've just got to keep my head back," Walsh said. "I'm looking too early. I want to see the results before it actually goes through."

Walsh's 65 percent conversion rate still ranks fourth in the SEC heading into Saturday's game at Kentucky.

"I really don't get too concerned about an extra point or field goal man if he's striking the ball well and if he misses them just by a little bit," coach Mark Richt said. "If he truly had the yips, if he was just missing it by a mile, I would be much more concerned. That's not happening."

In the past three games, the Boca Raton, Fla., native has missed from 40 and 37 against Vanderbilt, from 54 against LSU, and from 38 and 27 against Florida.

"The post shots are unnerving," Walsh said. "Twenty-seven yards, that should never be a miss."

Walsh has hit the upright on three misses this season.

"When you get down to kicking and you miss those kind of kicks, it falls back on one thing and that's just technique," Butler said. "... Florida brought a lot pressure and the first field goal he missed I saw him kind of walking backward after he kicked and that tells me one thing -- you're not carrying your weight and momentum toward your target."

Walsh admitted the rush got into his head "a little bit," but said it wasn't the reason he missed.

Walsh also kicks off, but Butler, whose son Drew is a punter on the team, would prefer that Walsh didn't do more than a few warm-up kickoffs before a game.

"I think the kickoffs certainly get him out of whack kicking field goals," Butler said. "It's such a different stroke. His body position is different. I personally see him kicking off way too much before a game. You don't have your pitcher throw 50 fastballs. ... Blair's there to score points."

Walsh said kickoffs demand a little bit different kicking style, but "it's not a big deal."

Teammates have been supportive of Walsh, which he said has helped him "get through this."

"He's not missing it so badly that we really are concerned," Richt said. "He's a young kid that needs to get back on track, but I think he will."

Reach Marc Weiszer at marc.weiszer@onlineathens.com.