All-American punter Brett Thorson may not be ready for Georgia’s opener

Thorson has been out working at preseason camp with the hope of being ready to go for the 2025 season. But it remains to be seen if that will be the case.

“Brett is kicking. He did not kick in the scrimmage,” Smart said 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% yet. I can’t answer the question whether he’s gonna go in the first game or not.”

The injury occurred to Thorson’s left leg, which is his plant leg.

A senior from Melbourne, Australia, Thorson was not able to play in the final game of the 2024 season against Notre Dame. Drew Miller stepped in for him.

The redshirt freshman hit four punts in the loss for 159 yards. Miller’s 39.8 average was far from Thorson’s 47.57, but Miller had a much smaller sample size.

In the event Thorson cannot punt, Miller would step in once again.

“Yeah, I thought Drew had his best scrimmage since being here,” Smart said of Miller. “His last scrimmage, he hit really good hang time, distances and field zones. I think it was five or six in his field zones, hit some really good pooches.”

Most would be more than content waiting to see who ends up punting, given that means an unsuccessful drive from the Georgia offense.

But the Bulldogs have won a lot of games because of elite special teams.

Whether it is Miller or Thorson punting against Marshall, Smart will want to have an elite punt unit once again. Especially with early SEC games against Tennessee and Alabama looming.

“We’re gonna see where he is, see how he’s doing,” Smart said of Thorson. “And where he and Drew compete to find out because Drew’s playing really well. At least in the second scrimmage he played better than the first.”

Kirby Smart gives the latest on the Georgia punter battle