Georgia football's first game of the season against Marshall is just a few days away, but there is a chance they will be missing their starting punter. Brett Thorson suffered a nasty knee injury during the SEC Championship game against Texas, and that injury has impacted him all offseason.
For a few weeks now, Kirby Smart has hinted at Thorson not being healthy enough to play against Marshall, but the latest update from Smart on Tuesday indicates that he is trending in the right direction and now has a chance to play on Saturday.
"He punted in some punt situations today," Smart shared via 247sports.com. "I don't know yet that he's going to be cleared — He's cleared to kick, but there's more to it than kicking. It's like the way he got injured, right? He's got to get cleared to that point. And I don't know if we're to that point yet, but he's kicking in action now."
Brett Thorson inching closer to his return
The above quote from Smart does not confirm that Thorson will play on Saturday against Marshall. However, it does show that he is one step closer to being healthy enough to take the field this weekend.
Thorson has been kicking for a few weeks now at practice, but he was still being held out from live team periods. That however is no longer the case as Smart shared that Thorson has begun taking part in these live drills with the rest of the team.
It does sound like that Thorson still isn't healthy enough quite yet to help with covering his kicks, and that is the thing that may prevent him from playing on Saturday. But the fact that he is now kicking in live portions of Georgia's practices shows that he is inching closer to playing on Saturday.
It still feels like it could go either way at this point, but there is now a realistic chance Georgia's All-American punter will take the field against Marshall.