ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart spoke to Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. on Sunday, a day after Smart shoved the quarterback during Saturday’s game — although Smart said he didn’t realize he had done that until he was asked about it after the game.
The moment got plenty of notice on social media: After Van Buren scrambled to the sideline, Smart pushed the quarterback on his way to saying something to Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann.
Kirby Smart shoves Mississippi State QB Michael Van Buren while arguing with official.
(via @SECNetwork)https://t.co/3JH351c7HR pic.twitter.com/zHYpnyClCg
— On3 (@On3sports) October 12, 2024
Smart said he called Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby that night, then spoke with Van Buren Jr. on Sunday.
“After you guys said that in the press conference, I went back and watched it and didn’t even realize I’d run into him,” Smart said. “But I reached out to Lebby that night and talked to him, and he said the kid was great. And yesterday, I talked to Mike and told him I didn’t have any intentions or ill will towards him at all.”
Smart is known for his fiery demeanor on the sideline. He was asked about that at his Monday news conference — causing his predecessor, Mark Richt, who was watching from a side row, to laugh knowingly.
Smart answered by pointing to a moment last year when then-Georgia receiver Jackson Meeks admonished him during a game. There was a fumble on a punt return, Smart was upset, and Meeks approached him to remind him about his “composure card,” a literal and figurative card the team uses.
“If you’ve ever been on a sideline during a game, it’s pandemonium,” Smart said. “It’s really pandemonium when you’re trying to change personnel, and you only have three or four seconds to do it, and we were bad off in a bad personnel grouping against an empty (set) that we actually messed up the week before. I was trying to get to Schumann to get that changed. But I reached out to the kid. He was great; he’s a really good player. He’s gonna be a good player in this league. He played really well against us.”
Van Buren Jr., a freshman starting his second game, threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns as Mississippi State (1-5) kept the game closer than expected, falling 41-31 to the fifth-ranked Bulldogs.
It’s not clear if the SEC office looked into the matter. An SEC official did not respond to an email request for comment on Sunday.
(Photo of Kirby Smart: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
