Georgia's Kirby Smart Apologizes for Shoving Mississippi State Player in Viral Video

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart told reporters on Monday that he apologized to Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren for shoving him during Saturday's matchup between the teams.

"Absolutely, I have. After you guys said that in the press conference, I went back and watched it. I didn't realize that I ran into him," he said. "But I reached out to [Mississippi State head coach Jeff] Lebby that night and said the kid was great. Yesterday, I talked to [Van Buren] and told him there were no intentions or ill-will toward him at all."

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told reporters on Monday that Smart should have been penalized during the game.

"I am confident the contact was not intentional and the clear expectation is this conduct will not happen again," he added.

Smart said he was trying to get the attention of Glenn Schumann, his defensive coordinator, at the time of the shove.

"If you've ever been on the sideline in a game, it's pandemonium," he said. "It's pandemonium when you're trying to change personnel and you've got 3-4 seconds to do it. I was trying to get Schumann's attention. But I reached out to the kid. He was great. He's a really good player in this league and got better as the game went along."

That mirrored the comments Smart made in his press conference immediately after the game.

"I think I was going after Schumann," he told reporters. "I was trying to get Schumann's attention. We were trying to change personnel. I think it's the play they came over to our sideline and trying to get Schumman's attention. But, no, I don't really remember it."

"I'm not really sure what that was but I was just trying to play my game," Van Buren told reporters after the game regarding the shove. "I didn't really see it for real."

The freshman quarterback played well in the 41-31 loss, finishing 20-of-37 for 306 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He's now 0-3 as a starter, but two of those games came against top-five competition in Texas and Georgia.

Those two teams will face off on Saturday in an epic SEC showdown that could have massive implications for both the conference championship race and College Football Playoff.

Given Sankey's comments, it appears that Smart won't be punished ahead of that contest.