ATLANTA - Brett Thorson decided to move across the world without ever getting a look at his new home.
The Australian punter committed to Georgia in March of 2021 after about a month and a half of recruitment by Georgia. The Bulldogs were set to lose Jake Camarda after the 2021 season, and had just found their replacement.
After growing up down under, Thorson's journey has now taken him to the top as the punter for the No. 1 team in the country.
"Pretty crazy so far. Obviously a different world compared to back home," Thorson said. "I’m just loving every minute of it. This is something I’ve never experienced before, so just trying to take it all in."
Thorson's journey began when he joined ProKick Australia, an organization that has sent dozens of kickers and punters to college football. The program trains punters and connects them with college coaches while also introducing the Australians to American college football.
"As soon as I joined (ProKick) and I started really investing into learning about the game, that didn’t involve just Georgia. That was everywhere," Thorson said. "That involved just learning the rules, learning all the teams, locations, lifestyle of a college athlete. Definitely enjoy it. We get to wake up every Sunday and just watch college football all day and say it was for learning."
Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley had connections with ProKick from his time as the special teams coordinator at Miami. Hartley reached out, and the organization put him in contact with Thorson.
Their conversations centered less around football and more on Thorson's family life back home. Thorson called it "really simple, really easy" to form a relationship with Hartley.
"I guess they had a similar punt scheme that I also wanted to be a part of," Thorson said. "So staying in the pocket, having those traditional punts, but then when rolling out, sticking with an American-style spiral ball rather than going to that Australian style, end over end. I do prefer punting traditionally, which is a big favor. But they just said we need someone to replace Jake. We think you’re the guy, and we want you to come here and be the best possible punter you can be. It suited me quite well."
There are some differences Thorson had to adjust to from Australian Rules football. The Australian game is almost non-stop. The American game, on the other hand, has more ebbs and flows, with Thorson getting warmed up on every possession.
Thorson has also adjusted to the culture well. Though he still refers to chicken sandwiches as hamburgers, the change has been a fun one.
"I like to think I try and keep enough regular contact so I don’t lose the accent," Thorson said. "I don’t know what I sound like. I think I don’t have an accent. I think you guys are the ones with accents."
Thorson has averaged just a tick under 45 yards per punt this year. He booted the punt of the year against Tennessee, a 75-yarder that veered sideways and trickled out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
"I thought I had a bit of time in there. I kind of caught something in the corner of my eye. The leg swing came through a bit quicker, and the ball drop was a bit straight. I saw it come off, I was like, oh yeah," Thorson said. "I saw it hit the ground and start rolling. I kind of just thought, oh yeah, that ball’s going in the 20, but obviously I was a fair bit back, so I had no concept of where it actually landed. Then I saw, I wanted it to go out of bounds, and then saw Nyland jumped in there. It kind of just all happened so fast that I just ended up going off the field."
Of course, the good feelings only lasted so long.
"Jack Podlesny was friendly enough to tell me, it’s just one punt, what’s the big deal? I got brought down to Earth pretty quick," Thorson said.
As just a freshman, Thorson has three years left in Athens. He'll still have his accent and his own way of describing things. But if he keeps booming punts for the Bulldogs, that'l be just fine for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.
