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Kirby Smart gives update on Georgia punter Brett Thorson's recovery

Jeremy Johnsonby: Jeremy Johnson08/19/25JeremyO_Johnson
Brett Thorson Georgia
Georgia punter Brett Thorson (92) before Georgia’s game against Alabama on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Al., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (Conor Dillon/UGAAA)

Georgia’s special team is one of the spots on the team with very few questions, but there is one that is still in the process of playing out.

Will senior punter Brett Thorson be ready for game one? Thorson suffered a torn ACL in Georgia’s win over Texas in the SEC Championship game in December.

Thorson has been practicing with the team this preseason. He is expecting to make a full recovery and be a major piece of the 2025 Georgia Bulldogs. The question is, when will he be fully ready? That is not the case at the moment.

Georgia held scrimmage number two on Saturday, but Thorson did not kick in live action, according to Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.

“Brett is kicking; he did not kick in the scrimmage,” Smart told reporters on Tuesday. “He kicked at the scrimmage, just not live in the rush periods. So he’s improving, he’s getting better. I don’t know if he would say he’s 100 percent yet.”

Smart was not ready rule him all the way in for Georgia’s season opener against Marshall on Aug. 30 either.

“I can’t answer the question whether he’s going to go in the first game or not,” Smart said. “We’re going to see where he is, see how he’s doing.”

If not Brett Thorson for Georgia, then who?

Georgia has played one game with the preseason All-American in the last four years. That game was the Sugar Bowl in January.

The punting duties that day fell to true freshman Drew Miller. Miller punted four times for 159 yards for an average of 39.8 yards per punt.

He redshirted in 2024 and is back in 2025. Miller has been a major part of the kicking game this preseason. Miller handled the in-scrimmage punting during Georgia’s scrimmage on Saturday.

“I thought Drew had his best scrimmage since being here,” Smart said. “His last scrimmage, he hit really good hang times, distances, and field zones. He was five or six in his field zones and hit some really good pooches… Drew’s playing really well, at least in the second scrimmage. He played it better than the first.”

Georgia opens with Marshall on Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m.

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