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Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel caught a vicious stray from Georgia football coach Kirby Smart this week during an offseason event. Video of the slight was posted to social media on Monday. It’s since been deleted by the original account.
Smart recently spoke at the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic, and at one point showed an image of Manziel pictured next to three other former SEC passers in a slideshow. The coach then asked his audience what the four players had in common.
The obvious answer was that they were each Heisman trophy winning signal callers. Smart took things a step further by noting that they’d all had incredible success against his defensive scheme.
One listener’s response caught Kirby Smart’s attention. The attendee claimed that all four players were “champions.” Smart disagreed. James Light, an offensive coordinator at Warren De La Salle high school, posted that interaction on X.
NEW: Kirby Smart jabbed Johnny Manziel while speaking at the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic💀
“He ain’t no champion. Champion of what? Champion of fireball!”
(via @JamesALight) https://t.co/GtvRhWtkI9 pic.twitter.com/lp2WC5258c
— On3 (@On3sports) February 24, 2025
Light later deleted the post, which has since been picked up by other outlets. At the time of this writing, Johnny Manziel has yet to respond.
While at Texas A&M, Manziel posted a 1-1 record against Smart, who was a defensive coordinator at Alabama. The passer threw for 717 yards, ran for another 190, and accounted for seven touchdowns in those two meetings.
Smart once called the quarterback the best player he’d ever coached against. He opted to take a jab in his latest appearance.