If you want proof that context matters in NFL Draft evaluation, look no further than Christen Miller’s career arc at Georgia. He arrived in Athens as a four-star recruit and spent his first two years buried behind first-round picks Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, and Jalen Carter — three players who all heard their names called on Day 1.
Georgia
Brett Thorson injury update: Georgia punter done for season
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia is headed to the College Football Playoffs, but the Bulldogs will be doing so without its Ray Guy Award finalist punter Brett Thorson. The junior out of Melbourne, Australia and the ProKick program suffered a knee injury in UGA’s win over Texas Saturday night while covering one of his kicks. In pursuit of Texas returner Silas Bolden on a 26-yard third-quarter return, Thorson went down holding his left leg. He was carted to the locker room and returned to the sidelines on crutches later.
Thorson, alongside Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, underwent an MRI on Sunday morning. Monday, Georgia shared an official statement with the latest on each, stating that Thorson “sustained a knee injury to his non-kicking leg’ that will require a season-ending surgery. No specifics were shared as to what the knee injury was.
“Carson and Brett are both fierce competitors and extremely hard workers,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “I’m confident they will attack their rehab with the same determination they exhibit in their daily habits. We will be here to support them every step of the way.”
Without Thorson available, Georgia sent out Duke graduate transfer Charlie Ham for the only time the Bulldogs lined up to punt the rest of the game. That, of course, resulted in a fake from the UGA 30-yard line on 4th & 5 where offensive lineman Drew Bobo flipped to Arian Smith for a 9-yard gain and a first down conversion. Georgia also has freshman Drew Miller, the nation’s No. 1 punter from the Class of 2024, and walk-on junior Noah Jones available at the position.
Asked about the backup options, Smart clarified that Miller is the backup and is expected to be the Bulldogs’ top option when they take the field for the College Football Playoffs January 1st in New Orleans.
“Drew (Miller), that’s the kid we signed last year. He would be our punter, and we think he’s really talented, and he does a great job,” Smart said. “He’s worked really hard to get the opportunity, and he punts every day in practice and does a tremendous job. He’s a very highly recruited kid who we’ve got a lot of confidence in.”
On the season, Thorson has punted 42 times for a total of 1,998 yards, averaging 47.57 yards per punt. Just five of those 42 have gone into the end zone for touchbacks with 22 being downed inside the 20.
Thorson made waves off the field earlier this season with a video that went viral from Georgia Football’s social media accounts after the punter had a touchdown saving tackle against Tennessee. According to the Australian, it was his head coach’s idea as a fun way to get a message across to the team while also showcasing the personality of the punter.
“He’s just a funny guy. The players really enjoy him and like him,” Smart said when asked about Thorson and the video. “We thought it was a good opportunity for him to take advantage of what he did. We’ve struggled to tackle for whatever reason. We haven’t tackled well, so we’re searching for any answer we can. We wanted to drive that home to them that he did it.”
As far as Thorson’s stance on the tackle, it’s actually not one of his prouder moments. He understands that because he was called upon as a punter to make a stop, something went wrong for his team in coverage. That starts with him kicking it, and ended with him making a play.
“Because we had a punt return, it’s definitely a weird thing to celebrate. I think the video comes out and we look at it light hearted, but obviously, it’s not a good thing,” Thorson said, ranking where the tackle goes on his list of career accomplishments. “I do feel iffy about getting around it and stuff like that. Obviously, the touchdown two and a half years ago definitely probably goes below that. But yeah, no. It’s been our second biggest return since I’ve been here. So not quite something I’m happy about. But I probably owed the boys for two and a half years of work. So I was glad I could help out just once.”
Between that touchdown given up against Mississippi State over two years ago and the long return against Tennessee, Georgia had allowed just five returns for a total of -4 yards. The Bulldogs went the entire 2023 season without allowing a return and 72 straight punts without a return for positive yardage.
Of Thorson’s 76 punts in between, 40 were either fair caught, downed or went out of bounds at or inside the 20 yard line including 17 at or inside the 10. His average punt traveled 45.9 yards while only six went for touchbacks, so there’s more than just his tackling ability that’s impressive about Thorson.
“I think everything that goes into it, to start with the coaching and the game plan. They give us a good look during the week and come up with a good plan for who we’re playing against. Then you’ve got to start with the snap. I can’t punt the ball if I don’t get a good snap, so I feel like this year Beau’s been exceptional. And then the protection and the coverage. So you have Arian and Dom and whoever else has been out there, they’ve been elite,” Thorson said. “I can’t take too much credit because without any of these other pieces that I just mentioned, it can’t happen. And it has lasted about two-and-a-half years, so a lot of people have played into that. A lot of different guys, a lot of different protection, a lot of different looks. So there’s a whole team involved in that. That’s not just a punting thing.”
Georgia takes on the winner of Notre Dame and Indiana, the seventh and tenth seeded teams respectively, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, set for an 8:45 p.m. ET kickoff on New Year’s Day in New Orleans.
Continue Reading
Wildfires burning across the south-eastern US intensified on Wednesday across parts of south-east Georgia, where 50 homes were destroyed, and across north-east Florida, forcing evacuations and school closures in some communities.
The Georgia forestry commission issued its first mandatory burn ban in the state’s history, effective across 91 counties in the lower half of the state, due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity.
“My office and I are working closely with the Georgia Forestry Commission to respond to the increasing threat of wildfires in South Georgia,” Governor Brian Kemp wrote on X. ”If you are in a directly affected area, please adhere to guidance from your local officials to keep you and your family safe.”
Smoke from the fires drifted to Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as well as Jacksonville, Florida, while air quality in parts of south Georgia declined to the unhealthy category.
Smoky conditions were expected to linger in the Atlanta area throughout the day, according to the Atlanta-Fulton county emergency management agency, as the worst blazes burned more than 200 miles from the city.
Some of the biggest blazes are reported to be along Georgia’s coast and around Jacksonville, Florida. They have been exacerbated by a long drought, low humidity and strong winds in the area.
Georgia’s two biggest wildfires together have burned more than 31 sq miles, and at least four other smaller fires have been reported.
Drought in the contiguous US has reached record levels for this time of year. More than 61% of the lower 48 states are in moderate to exceptional drought – including 97% of the south-east and two-thirds of the west – according to the US Drought Monitor. It’s the highest level of drought for this time of year since the drought monitor began in 2000.
Florida, the area where the worst fires are burning, is in exceptional or extreme drought, according to the monitor. Firefighters are battling 131 wildfires that had burned 34 sq miles, mostly in the state’s northern half.
Firefighting equipment was being staged across the state so resources are closer to the fires, the Florida commissioner of agriculture, Wilton Simpson, said.
“Florida has got one of the worst fire seasons in maybe the last 30 or 40 years or it’s turning out to be that way,” Simpson said. “We’ve been in drought for 18 months now all across the state.”
The fast-moving Brantley county fire in south-east Georgia is threatening more homes on Wednesday after destroying 47 a day earlier, according to the county manager, Joey Cason, who said the fire grew roughly six times in size over a half day. Nearly two dozen fire agencies called in to help fight the blaze, Cason said at a news conference. At least 800 evacuations have taken place in the county and five shelters have opened, as the fire threatens 300 more homes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.
The Brantley county sheriff, Len Davis, warned residents to be ready to evacuate, noting that the winds could shift rapidly and unexpectedly.
Another large fire that started in Clinch county had also forced evacuations, which were underway in multiple communities, the Georgia forestry association said.
“This is a serious and evolving situation,” said Tim Lowrimore, president & CEO of the association.
(WSAV) — The man accused of shooting and killing three people in Dekalb County April 13 was found dead in his jail cell, officials confirmed Monday night.
Olaolukitan Adon-Abel was found unresponsive in his jail cell at 6:48 p.m., a Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said. Life-saving measures were performed, according to officials.
He was pronounced dead at 7:17 p.m.
Adon-Abel was charged with malice murder, aggravated assault and firearms counts in connection to the shooting deaths of Prianna Weathers, Tony Mathews and Lauren Bullis.
In 2025, Adon-Abel plead guilty in Chatham County Recorder’s Court to multiple misdemeanor counts of sexual battery for groping women in Chatham County under the name Adon Olaolukitan.
According to court documents, he was banned from Savannah for four years and ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation.
The official cause will be determined by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, and a standard internal review has been launched, according to officials.
At this time, the sheriff’s office said there are no indications of foul play. No additional details were released.
The defensive tackle assembly line at Georgia is nothing short of extraordinary, and Miller patiently waited his turn. By 2024, his turn had arrived, and what NFL scouts saw was a prototypically built interior defender who carries his 321-pound frame with impressive athleticism and natural leverage.
Miller’s greatest asset is his run defense. He is a solid anchor — quick to press his hands into blockers, disciplined about maintaining gap integrity, and stout enough to hold the point of attack against double teams that would cave lesser prospects — but he’s not dominant.
His lateral mobility is a genuine differentiator for a man his size; he can scrape down the line to close on outside runs or loop inside on stunts without losing his footing or pad level.
That combination of power and movement is why Georgia trusted him on the field for passing downs, and it’s why scouts project him as an immediate contributor against the run at the NFL level.
The legitimate questions surrounding Miller center on his pass-rush production and his still-developing anticipation skills. Over his entire collegiate career, he accumulated only four sacks — never cracking two in a single season.
Still, Miller’s athleticism stands out immediately — he carries his size well and shows the lateral quickness you don’t always find at his frame. His hands have some pop, and he’s flashed the ability to jolt interior linemen off their spot. But he’s a prospect defined more by his floor than his ceiling.
No single trait rises above average, which means his pass-rush production will hinge on technique and motor rather than any physical advantage. He also needs to improve as a finisher — getting close isn’t enough at the next level.
The traits for pass-rush development are present: he has good first-step quickness, flashes as a one-gap penetrator, and showed enough in stunt packages to keep offensive linemen honest. But he has yet to build a consistent, go-to counter move when his initial rush is neutralized. Against better competition, his reaction time to the snap can be late, and he can drift out of his gap assignment when he tries to freelance for a big play.
What Miller offers any franchise is a high floor with a realistic upside trajectory. He comes from one of college football’s most technically demanding defensive line programs, coached by coaches who regularly develop NFL talent.
He plays with a motor that never stops. He competed in SEC trenches for two-plus seasons and was named to the All-SEC First Team as a senior. The experience and winning culture he brings — two state championships in high school, a national championship at Georgia — will matter to coaches who value locker-room character.
The ceiling here isn’t flashy, but it’s tangible: a reliable, two-down starting defensive tackle who keeps blocks clean and lets linebackers run free. In a league that increasingly prizes versatile, multi-technique interior linemen, Miller’s ability to play the nose or the B-gap makes him a schematic asset for even-front and two-gap systems. Don’t sleep on him because his sack totals are modest — evaluating him solely by that metric would miss the forest for the trees.
Miller’s fit in Green Bay is an interesting one. The Packers are switching to a 3-4 base defense under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, and they lack a proven run-stuffing nose tackle while being long overdue for a meaningful investment on the defensive interior — which is exactly the profile Miller fits.
The team brought him in for a pre-draft visit, signaling genuine interest, and his skill set maps cleanly onto what Green Bay needs. His calling card — an elite run defense grade that ranked second among all FBS defensive tackles — translates directly to what Gannon will ask of his interior linemen, and his versatility to play nose in an odd front or kick out to three-technique in sub packages only adds to the appeal.
-
Kansas6 minutes agoNew downtown stadium will mean less parking for Royals fans
-
Kentucky12 minutes agoNorthern Kentucky Education Council honors NKY educators with 2026 Excellence in Education Awards
-
Louisiana18 minutes agoNorth Carolina man arrested in Okaloosa County for alleged Louisiana mass shooting plan
-
Maine24 minutes agoVideos show dead Maine moose covered in winter ticks. How they kill.
-
Maryland30 minutes agoNo. 2-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse ekes out 10-9 win over No. 7-seed Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals
-
Michigan36 minutes agoPolice say Oakland County teen missing, endangered
-
Massachusetts42 minutes agoInside the Massachusetts courtroom where former students face a teacher charged with rape
-
Minnesota48 minutes agoMinnesota weather: Rain and storms possible late Thursday