Kirby Smart apologized Monday for Saturday's sideline incident when he shoved Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren.

"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," Smart said. "But I reached out to (MSU 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."

Georgia's head coach was attempting to get the attention of defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, when he pushed Van Buren, who was preparing to leave the Bulldog sideline after being knocked out of bounds.

"If you've ever been on the sideline in a game, it's pandemonium," Smart 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."

Initially, Smart said during his post-game press conference that he did not recall what happened.

Smart's will not receive any repercussions from the SEC, although SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said Smart was in the wrong.

“Coaches cannot make contact with an opposing player. This play should have resulted in enforcement of an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty,” Sankey said in an email. “As Kirby discussed in his press conference today, he has appropriately reached out to Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby and quarterback Michael Van Buren. I am confident the contact was not intentional, and the clear expectation is this conduct will not happen again.”