Brett Thorson takes to social media to announce return in hilarious style

Brett Thorson announced his return for another season at Georgia in the most Brett Thorson type way. The punter from Australia took to social media with an edited clip from ‘The Other Guys’ putting his face, along with that of kicker Peyton Woodring and head coach Kirby Smart, over the actors’ to answer the question, “Brett, are you coming back for 1 more year?”

“Brett, are you coming back for 1 more year?” pic.twitter.com/HAFnkb872d

— Brett Thorson (@brett_thorson) January 8, 2025

Thorson has spent three seasons at Georgia after choosing the Bulldogs during the recruiting process out of Melbourne, Australia and the ProKick program. He was named a Ray Guy Award finalist for the nation’s best player at his position before a knee injury in the SEC Championship Game ended his season a game early.

Thorson 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. He made waves off the field earlier in the 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.”

Thorson joins the likes of Dillon Bell and Christen Miller in announcing a return to Georgia. The Bulldogs have added to an already talented roster with the nation’s No. 4 ranked Class of 2025 plus a few players out of the transfer portal including former five-star receiver Zachariah Branch (USC), his brother and safety Zion Branch (USC), an SEC program’s leading receiver Noah Thomas (Texas A&M) and a couple of interesting defensive back options, Jaden Harris (Miami) and Adrian Maddox (UAB).