Kirby Smart reacts to his fiery halftime speeches being leaked

Kirby Smart understands that the halftime speeches he’s made that are especially fiery get leaked. During a visit to “The Pat McAfee Show,” Smart noted how his mother, who has Southern Baptist roots, is not a fan of the language.

“It makes me wonder who’s listening and who’s doing it,” Smart said on Friday. “Because you want to be able to control the message in terms of what gets out and what doesn’t. But there’s some things you’ve come to believe in college football you just have no control over. So it is what it is.”

McAfee chimed in and said the people on his show appreciated what Smart said, and added that, “Kirby Smart is a Dawg.”

“In the moment, I’m certainly not thinking about what I’m saying in terms of leaking,” Smart said. “I’m looking at it like what can I do to inspire my players. I was a passionate player and I want the players to have passion and energy about what they do.”

Smart added that he can’t do a speech to that level every game, but there are moments when it’s needed. Otherwise, the leaders on the team do it, and Smart said the other players listen “twice as much” as they do with Smart.

“Those speeches piss my mom off and she doesn’t believe in some of that language ?

In the moment I’m just looking at what I can do to inspire my players” ~ @KirbySmartUGA

We LOVE everything about it #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/PyuzRZAhkc

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 10, 2023

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.