Dylan Stewart Suspended One Game by SEC, Indefinitely by South Carolina After Punching Alabama Player

Dylan Stewart threw a punch at Alabama tight end Josh Ford's helmet in the fourth quarter of South Carolina's 49-18 loss in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, September 26, according to Fox Sports and CBS Sports. The hit came right after Alabama scored to push its lead to 42-18. Officials never flagged it. Ford told reporters afterward, per the Daily Mail, that Stewart had actually punched him three separate times during the game.

Stewart did draw a personal foul penalty earlier in the night for a different blow-to-the-head infraction, which coach Shane Beamer said he didn't even see happen live. "I saw the play that he got the penalty on. I didn't see it until just now, and that's unacceptable," Beamer said in his postgame press conference, as reported by Breitbart. "That's not how we do things around here. I'm embarrassed to see that."

Beamer made clear the indefinite suspension he announced Sunday wasn't only about the hit on Ford. Cameras caught Stewart shouting at coaches, including outside linebackers coach Deion Barnes, and walking away or turning his back when they tried to sub him out, according to sports.yahoo and WBTV. The Daily Mail reported additional clips showing Stewart trying to sit alone away from teammates on the bench and having to be physically brought back, plus Beamer screaming at him to "jog off the f*ing field."

"It's beyond the punch. The punch is unacceptable," Beamer said, according to CBS Sports. "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."

On Monday, September 28, the SEC and South Carolina jointly announced Stewart would sit out one game specifically for the contact with Ford, according to CBS Sports and NBC Sports. Commissioner Greg Sankey called it "egregious contact."

"Such action against an opponent carries a serious risk of injury and has no place in our conference competition," Sankey said in a statement carried by both outlets. "This suspension is appropriate, and any future misconduct by Dylan Stewart will result in more severe disciplinary action."

That one-game penalty is separate from, and layered on top of, South Carolina's own indefinite suspension. Beamer has not set a timeline for when, or if, Stewart returns. "I'll make the decision on what his future looks like," Beamer said, per CBS Sports. Stewart is ruled out for Saturday's home game against No. 24 Kentucky regardless of which suspension technically applies.

This isn't Stewart's first sideline controversy. In 2024, while still at Ole Miss's rival program, he made a gun gesture standing over Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, the Daily Mail reported. Dart has since moved on to the NFL with the Giants.

Stewart was a five-star recruit in the 2024 class and, per CBS Sports, posted a combined 22.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks across his first two seasons. He was working back from a back injury this year and had yet to record a sack in 2026 before the suspension. He's still regarded by NFL Sports outlets, including NBC Sports and the Daily Mail, as a potential top-10 pick in the 2027 draft, though the Daily Mail's headline argues Stewart did real damage to that projection with his own conduct.

South Carolina sits at 2-2 overall and 0-2 in SEC play heading into Saturday's 4:15 p.m. ET kickoff against Kentucky, according to CBS Sports. The Gamecocks then face Florida and Tennessee in consecutive weeks. Sports.yahoo notes it has been 365 days since South Carolina's last win over an SEC or Power Four opponent, which happened to be against Kentucky. Beamer's own job security is now part of the conversation, per CBS Sports, and Stewart's standing with the program remains unresolved.