Kirby Smart jokingly brings in Brett Thorson as 'professional tackler' to talk to team
Georgia coach Kirby Smart had some fun with his team during Monday’s meeting after a victory against Tennessee this past week. Smart found a unique way to give props to punter Brett Thorson, who made a touchdown-saving tackle in the game.
Speaking with his team, the Bulldogs head man emphasized the need to get better at tackling even after the win. He then told them that he was going to bring someone in to help before dimming the lights and setting the stage for Thorson to walk out wearing shoulder pads with spikes on them. You can view the moment below.
The Australian punter stepped to the podium and poked fun at Smart for previously calling him “unathletic and slow.” He then showed a clip of his tackle from last week on screen and broke it down in humorous fashion for his teammates.
Thorson continued to play along on social media after, quoting the tweet from Georgia’s official account on X, formerly Twitter.
Heard great things about this coach, will be great for the building, (can’t) wait to meet him!” he wrote.
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Thorson is in his third season as the Bulldogs’ starting punter. He has punted the ball 35 times this season for an average of 45.6 yards per punt.
However, despite appearing in 37 games across the past three seasons, Thorson had never recorded a tackle until Saturday. The gesture from Smart was certainly a creative way for the coach to recognize the career accomplishment for a player who has given a lot to the program in recent years.
Brett Thorson attended ProKick Australia in high school and ranked as the No. 1 punter in the 2022 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
While Georgia got help with tackling from the punter this weekend, it will hope its defense can take inspiration from him next week as it prepares to face Massachusetts.