‘Shut your mouth’ – 49ers star George Kittle unloads in fiery interview with beloved ESPN host

George Kittle unleashed a fiery rant at Will Compton after the San Francisco 49ers’ 20-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football.

The veteran tight end led the Niners receiving unit in yards with 78 yards from six receptions, despite quarterback Brock Purdy enduring a very uncharacteristic three-interception outing in the first half, which saw some fans call for the introduction of backup Mac Jones.

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After an ugly contest got uglier when a scuffle ensued between the Niners and the Panthers during the postgame niceties as 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings struck safety Tre’von Moehrig for a ‘cheap shot’ he received earlier on in the game, Kittle decided to wade in on some action of his own.

In an interview with ESPN Sports Center’s Scott Van Pelt after the victory, Kittle first spoke of the 49ers’ relentlessness in maintaining high expectations – still somehow sitting at 12th in talkSPORT’s power rankings – despite a myriad of injuries to their star players throughout the course of this season.

“I think we’ve built a fantastic culture here. We have a great foundation of people,” Kittle told SVP. “Guys who have been here for a long time have kind of set the tone.

“And the 49ers organization, we have a standard that which we play at which we try to hold each other accountable to. Even when your best players are out, we still want to hold guys to that standard…”

“I put a lot of credit on coach [Kye] Shanahan, Coach [Robert] Saleh and all these assistant coaches for just keeping that standard up… the NFL is the land of opportunity. You don’t know when you’re going to get your chance. You might not be ready for that chance, but it doesn’t matter.

“Life’s not waiting for you, you gotta go out there and take that opportunity and take control of that. That’s what our guys did tonight and we’re going to continue to just get that little bit better every single week.”

Kittle fires shots at Will Compton over Iowa-Nebraska rivalry

The 36-year-old then rounded out his interview with SVP reacting to a voice message he had received from the Compton prior to the Monday Night Football contest.

Compton, a former nine-year NFL veteran linebacker and now co-host of the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, is reported to have sent some smack talk to Kittle ahead of his MNF clash against the Panthers with their college football alma maters Nebraska and Iowa set to meet on Friday.

“Ay, Will Compton. I didn’t really appreciate your voice memo on the day of my Monday Night Football game talking c**p to me about Nebraska-Iowa,” Kittle said.

“It didn’t settle with me. You know what? I didn’t like it. That’s the type of thing Nebraska does. They take cheap shots.

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X/ @ESPNCFB

“Hey, I’m preparing for a Monday Night Football game on national television and you’re coming to me about Nebraska-Iowa? That means you’re scared.

“You’re terrified. You lost by 30 at Penn State? They just fired their coach and you lost by 30? Are you kidding me? I was gonna come in there and run the ball down your throat and there’s nothing you can do about it.

“Sit on the bus that doesn’t go anywhere and shut your mouth, Will Compton,” Kittle joked. “Shut up.”

Fans took to social media to marvel at Kittle’s comments toward Compton.

“Legendary. Will Compton just got cut down to size, verbally, by Axe-wielding Iowa Assassin by the name of George Kittle. Post NFL: WWE COMMISSIONER. Book it. #Niners #MNF #iowahawkeyes,” one fan commented on X (formerly Twitter).

“@gkittle46 been working on his promo skills,” another said.

X/ @BussinWTB

IG/ @itsmebayley

“Nebraska will always be little brother,” a Hawkeyes fan added.

Compton, who co-hosts the podcast alongside former Tennessee Titans teammate Taylor Lewan, responded to Kittle’s televised rant to him on X posting the video clip of it with the caption: “wtf.”

It is important to note, though, that Kittle and Compton are very good friends, and that these types of exchanges are just the type of banter that fuels their great relationship which has seen the 49ers star appear on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast in the past.

Compton later posted: “Not surprised by Kittle taking shots at me & the Huskers on national television while I’m trying to keep my head above water. Only Iowa guys. I’d literally never spew nonsense like that on a platform like ESPN. Disgusting.”

This is quite the turnaround from his comments posted ahead of MNF, with Compton leaving Kittle a FaceTime message on the latest episode of the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast.

“You might be getting ready for your game tonight,” he said. “But I just want you to know that Nebraska is going to stomp a mudhole in your a** this Friday at 11:00 A.M. I hope you catch a lot of balls tonight, but just know Nebraska is coming for your a**.”

Both the Cornhuskers and the Hawkeyes enter their Week 14 Big 10 clash – and final regular season outing – with a 7-4 record, although Kittle’s Iowa boast a slightly better conference record (5-3 to Nebraska’s 4-4).

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