ATHENS — Brett Thorson hasn’t been asked to make many tackles in his Georgia career. But when Tennessee ripped off a big return in Saturday’s game, Thorson was thrust into action.

And the Australia native made the most of his moment, bringing down Tennessee’s Boo Carter and preventing a touchdown. Georgia’s defense forced a 3-and-out and Tennessee only was able to add 3 points to its lead.

For his efforts, Thorson was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. In addition to his tackle, Thorson had 4 punts which traveled 177 yards. Two of his punts were downed inside the 20 as well.

“Amazing. I mean, that’s what they do in Australia, right? He came out of nowhere,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Saturday of the play. “I was thinking this guy might be a linebacker.”

On Monday though, Georgia wasn’t done enjoying Thorson’s play. The Georgia football account shared a video of Thorson breaking down his tackle in a team meeting.

Tackling has been an issue for the Georgia defense at times this year, so you could understand why Smart would be eager to lean into the bit.

Thorson is one of the funniest members of the team and wasn’t afraid to make a joke directed at Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp.

The Georgia punter did share some advice to the team on how they could take like him.

“Remember three things: Be tough, be fast and be tough,” Thorson said in the clip.

Jokes aside, Thorson did manage to impress his teammates with his toughness on Saturday.

“I didn’t think he had that much running in him. But, no, that was impressive,” Georgia offensive tackle Tate Ratledge said. “He impressed me with that one. No, I didn’t think he had that much running in him. That was my biggest concern. I knew if he got there, he’s built like a linebacker, so he could probably make the tackle. But it was getting there that would be the problem.”

The 26-yard return was the longest against Thorson since the 2022 season. While Thorson’s incredibly athletic tackle might have be a shock to some, with the way the Georgia punt team has performed it was more shocking that Tennessee actually ripped off a positive return.

Thorson and the Bulldogs next take the field on Saturday when they take on UMass. The game is scheduled for a 12:45 p.m. ET start on the SEC Network.