Legendary college football coach Urban Meyer has expressed disappointment in Kirby Smart after he watched footage of the Georgia head coach pushing Mississippi State’s quarterback during last week’s game.
Needless to say, the clip of the bizarre incident quickly went viral on social media.
With under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarterback of Georgia’s eventual win over Mississippi State, freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren scrambled out of bounds near the Georgia sideline.
Smart burst onto the scene where he appeared to be moving toward defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. However, Van Buren, standing nearby, was inadvertently shoved by Kirby during the heated encounter.
Initially, Kirby downplayed the incident, claiming his intent was to “go after” Schumann, but he later apologized after reviewing the footage. He reached out to both Van Buren and Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby to express his regret.
“I went back and watched it, and didn’t even realize that I had run into him,” Smart said. “But I reached out to Lebby that night and talked to him, and he said the kid was great.
“Then yesterday, I talked to Mike (Van Buren) and told him I had no intentions or ill will towards him at all. It was, if you’ve ever been on the sideline in a game, it’s pandemonium.”
Despite Smart’s apology, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey admitted that Smart should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct during the game. However, Kirby has not faced any formal punishment for the incident.
Meyer, now a FOX Sports college football analyst, addressed the situation on this week’s episode of “The Triple Option” podcast. He believes Smart’s actions, intentional or not, warrant consequences.
“I was shocked when I saw that,” Meyer said. “I know Kirby as well. I’ve known him a long time and, first of all, I can’t imagine there was any intent however it happened. Should there be a recourse? There should. It happened.”
Van Buren deserves credit for shrugging off the push. He downplayed the whole incident and said it didn’t affect him in the least bit.
“I’m not sure what that was. I was just trying to play my game,” Van Buren said after the game. “I didn’t really see it.”
Of course, all eyes in the college football world will be set on Austin this Saturday when Kirby’s Bulldogs take on Quinn Ewers and the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns. (Hey, wouldn’t it be interesting if Kirby tries shoving Ewers?)
What are your thoughts on the bizarre scene?
While it clearly wasn’t intentional, do you agree with Meyer that Kirby should face some sort of punishment?
Or is the whole thing being way overblown???