Australian punter Brett Thorson has jokes

Since Brett Thorson moved to America and settled down in Athens to punt for the Georgia Bulldogs, the Australia native has heard plenty of teammates attempt to imitate his native tongue.

He’s still waiting to hear it done properly.

“Unfortunately, no, there’s not a single good one,” Thorson said. “I’ve heard some really bad ones, and they keep getting worse. So, I can’t say who has got the best. But Brock Bowers definitely has the worst, of that there would really be no doubt.”

Bowers wasn’t the only teammate Thorson tweaked during his interview session with reporters Tuesday afternoon.

On the subject of his hair, which the sophomore admitted is talking mullet tendencies, Thorson said one person is to blame.

“Yeah, maybe I’ve been hanging out with Tate (Ratledge) a bit too much,” said Thorson, nicknamed "Outback" by strength coach Scott Sinclair. “A few weeks ago, I had a tiny little one with the haircut; I usually try to mix it up. It’s something I had back in Covid, where we had to cut everyone’s hair because we couldn’t go to barbers in Australia. I cut it myself; I cut the sides and deal with whatever comes in the back.”

Inside the Bulldogs’ football facility, Georgia players and coaches have become accustomed to Thorson’s witty ways.

On the field, it’s Thorson’s strong right leg that fans are most familiar with.

After Jake Camarda left for the NFL, Thorson has managed to step right in, and Georgia’s punting game has remained in solid hands—um, feet. Thorson is averaging 44 yards on 16 punts, with eight of those kicks pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line.

"He's just more confident. I think more than anything, he's more confident and easily more social. He came from a long way away, and coming to a new place like Athens, the guy flew in here and the day he got here, we were leaving to go wherever we were going. Maybe it was the national championship, and he was like, 'Hey, it's my new family, and everybody is leaving. They're gone,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “He's enjoyed Athens a lot. He's a very interesting character. He's got a great personality. He just does different than all the other guys. Just from where he's from, he thinks differently. I enjoy him, and I just stay out of his way."

How Thorson matriculated to Athens is a tale by itself.

While back home in Australia, Thorson enrolled in Prokick Australia, an organization that trains and helps Aussie kickers and punters transition to college in America, and hopefully, a professional career.

“When you sign up with the program, you pretty much commit to just going to America. You’ve got no idea where you’re going to go, so I joined the program just hoping to go to America and get a scholarship,” Thorson explained. “I trained roughly for 6-8 months. I was a bit broken up with Covid, until Coach (Todd) Hartley got in contact with the Prokick coaches, and they linked us together. I spoke with him about once a week; we talked roughly for a month and a half, and they said yeah, the spot’s yours. So, I kept training until it was time to come here in January of 2022.”

Once in Athens, there were obviously some adjustments that he had to make.

On the field, it was learning to punt in real situations, which for someone who had never done so before, was not as simple as you might believe.

“Obviously, when I came over here, I had never been behind the line of scrimmage with protectors. We replicate it in Prokick, but you can’t replicate a 6-5, 300-pound offensive lineman protecting, and then guys sprinting full speed straight at you,” Thorson said. “So, it’s been getting comfortable behind there and knowing how to get comfortable behind there. It’s not necessarily trying to kick a good ball, but also placement and what I need to do to get that ball to go where it needs to go.”

Off the field, there have been adjustments, too.

Although he had his new teammates, being alone in a new country for the first time took some getting used to as well.

“That was a slow process; I guess finding my close friends was the big thing. Finding food places was obviously a big thing. American food is a bit different, so that took a little bit of adjusting. Finding those spots I can get a good coffee, a good meal, helped me to feel at home,” he said. “So, those two things, then getting back into school, getting involved helped as well, although you keep pretty busy obviously with the football schedule. You don’t have too much time to get out and explore.”

One place Thorson laughed he hasn’t explored is Outback Steakhouse, whose commercials attempt to reflect a Down Under vibe.

Thorson was asked if he thought that was true.

“We’ve had it catered to the facility; I haven’t really gone and sat down. I know I need to do it; I’ve had a bunch of people who have offered to take me,” Thorson said. “So, I can’t speak first-hand for the restaurant, but when it’s been catered … it has been good. But they have Mac and Cheese which is something I don’t think I’ve ever really had before. There are a few differences that I think they made to obviously cater to the American crowd. But yeah, it’s funny, because that’s what everyone references when they reference Australian food.”