Steve Spurrier believes Nate Frazier 'deserved' ripping from Kirby Smart over throat slash

Georgia Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier was penalized after Gator chomping and doing a throat slash gesture after scoring a touchdown against the Florida Gators. Head coach Kirby Smart then lit into him on the sidelines, getting in his face and letting him know how he felt about the play.

For former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier, this was the right move, praising Smart and sharing that Frazier deserved the ripping.

“I’ll tell you what,” Steve Spurrier said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “I’ll give Kirby Smart a little shout-out. When [Frazier] scored he did all that hoo-ha and he did that slash throat, and they penalized him you know, Kirby chewed him out real good…He chewed him out real good because he deserved it.”

At the time that Nate Frazier scored, Georgia was actually trailing Florida and working to come back to win the game. So, taking the penalty which gave Florida good field position, had the potential to have a negative impact on the Bulldogs.

Frazier is a freshman who came to Georgia as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024 out of Mater Dei in California, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was also the 49th-ranked player nationally and the second-ranked running back in that recruiting cycle.

This season, Trevor Etienne has been Georgia’s primary running back. However, he left the game early with an injury against Florida. That forced Nate Frazier to take on a larger role and likely is why he was in a position to score and commit the penalty.

Kirby Smart calls out Nate Frazier for Gator Chomp celebration

Following the game, Kirby Smart called out Nate Frazier for the taunting penalty and shared that it’s part of maturing for the young running back.

“Just told him, ‘Don’t be stupid, man. We’re not selfish people at Georgia. We don’t, I mean, I’m not interested in all the shenanigans. We’re meat and potatoes. We roll our sleeves up, we go to work every day. I’m not interested in you gator-chomping and throat-slashing.’ It’s not respectful. I mean, I want to be respectful of the game and the people we play. And I think the best way to attack somebody is beat them,” Smart said.

“I mean, he’s immature. He’s young,” Smart said. “Nate’s a great kid. He’s a super talent and he wants to do well. He didn’t do it with the intent of getting a penalty. You gotta act like you’ve been there and he ain’t been there enough.”