ATHENS — Improbably, Rara Thomas’s touchdown catch wasn’t the most encouraging part of this performance against Kentucky.

Topping the spinning, toe-tapping touchdown pass that Thomas brought in was what head coach Kirby Smart had to say about the transfer wide receiver after the game.

The Georgia head coach acknowledged he didn’t think Thomas caught the pass at first.

But Thomas’ first touchdown as a Georgia Bulldog had Smart speaking about how critical Thomas can be for the Georgia offense.

“He’s the biggest guy that can change our offense,” Smart said. “We have some guys that can do things, obviously Brock is special. Carson has played well. There are a lot of guys who can do things. It loosens your whole defense up when you’ve got a guy at X that can win some one-on-ones. If he comes to life and keeps growing like he’s done, he makes us harder to defend. Because there are a lot of answers you have, it’s hard to answer if the guy can go up and catch the ball one-on-one.”

Thomas finished the game with 5 receptions for 63 yards in Georgia’s 51-13 win over Kentucky. He also drew a pass interference penalty on Georgia’s final drive of the first half, which moved Georgia into field goal range.

Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Thomas is getting better as the season progresses. Smart has repeatedly likened Thomas to being a freshman in terms of coming in and getting acclimated to the Georgia ecosystem.

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