Georgia's Kirby Smart Apologizes for Calling Jake Pope an 'Idiot' After Viral Video

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart admitted his harsh comments towards one of his players after Saturday's loss to Ole Miss went too far.

After the Rebels upset the Bulldogs over the weekend, a video surfaced of one of Smart's players appearing to celebrate with a group of Ole Miss fans.

During Monday's press conference, Smart called Jake Pope, the player seen in the video, "an idiot" and said it was "just stupid."

Per ESPN, Smart believes he crossed the line with his words toward Pope.

"I'll say I should not have called the kid an idiot and that was a mistake by me, but I appreciate Jake," Smart said. "He's a great kid. He works really hard. He's a team player. I think he knows it was an emotional mistake, and he told the team that. So, I appreciate the way he handled it."

After Pope's video with the Ole Miss fans went viral, he issued an apology to fans and explained that the people seen in the video were his family friends, whom he ran into unexpectedly.

Without context, it's understandable that Smart was upset to see how his player acted after the upset loss. Smart's comments on Wednesday seem to indicate he has no hard feelings towards Pope and the two are likely ready to move on to this week's matchup against Tennessee.

After the loss to the Rebels, the No. 12 Bulldogs can't afford another loss if they want to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. They'll get another tough matchup this weekend as the No. 7 Vols come to town, and Georgia will likely be fired up given the way its last game ended.