Here’s what Kirby Smart said about Mario Cristobal that led to viral response
Kirby Smart and Mario Cristobal certainly delivered in front of former Florida coach Steve Spurrier at the Steve Spurrier awards in Gainesville, Florida, on Monday night.
Smart was at the awards along with Georgia cornerback Ellis Robinson, who was being honored for being named the FWAA’s Defensive Freshman of the Year.
The Georgia coach first joked that all the NIL money Georgia paid Robinson helped pay for the 50th birthday celebrations of Robinson’s parents.
Then Smart took a jab at the Miami head coach.
“Mario’s right behind him and if it had been up to him, he would have paid a lot more NIL money because it came down to us, too,” Smart said. “So I don’t like you being real close to Mario right now.”
Smart then relayed a story about how Cristobal made a crack about Smart’s physique, something Lane Kiffin did earlier in the season as well.
He then brought up the lack of conference championships Cristobal had won at Miami.
“He’s like, you ought to start getting on some protein shakes. You’ve had too many carbs,” Smart said. “And I said, well, you probably ought to spend some time with Steve Spurrier because he wonmore conference championships at Duke than you have in Miami.”
At the conclusion of Smart’s remarks, he joked that he had to leave the event so that he wouldn’t have to hear Cristobal’s response.
“Hey, Mario, no fat jokes,” Smart said in his closing remarks.
Cristobal did not have any fat jokes in his response, though he did make note of Smart’s height. The Miami coach did have his own fair share of jokes at Smart’s expense.
He pointed to the success Miami had with Carson Beck as the team’s quarterback this season, as the Hurricanes got to the national championship game after Beck transferred in from Georgia.
“It’s a great piece there to watch what a player like Carson Beck can do with great coaching,” Cristobal said.
Cristobal also pointed to the unbeaten record Miami had against SEC teams last season, picking up wins over Florida, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Georgia did win the SEC but lost to Alabama and Ole Miss during the season.
As a twist of the knife, Cristobal also mentioned that Smart’s team was at home watching Miami, as the Bulldogs lost their first College Football Playoff game. Miami’s season came to an end in the national championship game against Indiana.
Cristobal and Smart have a history of working together, as they were both at Alabama from 2013 through 2015. Cristobal worked as the offensive line coach, while Smart was the team’s defensive coordinator.
While Georgia and Miami didn’t play each other last season, they did go head-to-head for a number of recruits. Miami landed five-star offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell, while Georgia held on for four-star defensive back Tyriq Green. The Buford High School standout was named the AJC’s Player of the Year.
Georgia and Miami aren’t scheduled to play each other at this point. The only way Smart and Cristobal’s teams will see each other will be in a College Football Playoff.
Given the comments both made on Monday, just about everyone would sign up for that game.
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
