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South Carolina edge rusher suspended after punching Alabama player

FILE - South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart (6) lines up against Alabama during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Sept. 26, 2026, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)
Vasha Hunt/AP Photo/Vasha Hunt
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FR171624 AP
FILE - South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart (6) lines up against Alabama during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Sept. 26, 2026, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)

Fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium may have seen some on-field fireworks during the Crimson Tide’s defeat of South Carolina. South Carolina Dylan Stewart threw a punch at Alabama tight end Josh Ford in the fourth quarter during the Tide’s forty nine to eighteen rout of the Gamecocks. Daniel Hill had just made a one yard rush to score Alabama’s next to last touchdown of night when the punch was thrown.

Now, Stewart’s actions have drawn a reaction.

South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart was suspended indefinitely after throwing a punch at an Alabama player on Saturday night, coach Shane Beamer announced Sunday. Stewart was called for a personal foul after he punched tight end Josh Ford in the helmet in the fourth quarter of the Gamecocks’ 49-18 loss in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Beamer said he would make a decision early this week about when, and if, Stewart will return. Stewart, who is widely projected to be a first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft, was ruled out of Saturday’s home game against No. 24 Kentucky.

“There’s a standard of how we do things in this program, and that was not it last night,” Beamer said. “It’s beyond the punch. The punch is unacceptable. He’s not the first person to ever, unfortunately, throw a punch in a football game, and he won’t be the last. But it’s some of the other stuff that isn’t how we do things in this program.
Accountability is a core value of this program, and we are all accountable to the standard.”

Stewart, an Associated Press preseason All-America first-team pick, missed the first two games of the season because of a back injury. He has one tackle for loss and three quarterback hurries in two games.

Pat Duggins is news director for Alabama Public Radio.
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