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.