Kirby Smart regrets what he said about safety Jake Pope.
On Monday, Smart said that Pope was “an idiot” for celebrating with old high school friends who had rushed the field following Ole Miss’ win over Georgia on Saturday. Video showed Pope jumping around with some Ole Miss students after the game, a move that Smart also called “just stupid.”
Pope apologized in a statement to social media on Monday and Smart had also said that the backup safety had apologized to the team. On Tuesday, it was Smart’s turn to apologize. He said he should not have called Pope an idiot.
“I don’t like to talk about the internal stuff going on in inside, he did talk to the team, did a great job,” Smart said of Pope on Tuesday. “I’ll say I should not have called the kid an idiot. That was a mistake by me. I appreciate Jake. He is 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. I appreciate the way he handled it.”
The loss dropped Georgia to No. 12 in Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings. The Bulldogs are a spot behind the Rebels and the first team out of the 12-team playoff field with three weeks to go in the regular season. However, Georgia has a good chance of being back in the field after Week 12. The Bulldogs host No. 7 Tennessee on Saturday night. A win will vault Georgia back into the top 10.
Tennessee may also be without star QB Nico Iamalelava for the game as well. Iamaleava is reportedly in concussion protocol after he missed the second half of the Vols’ win over Mississippi State in Week 11.
