Shane Beamer announces indefinite suspension for Dylan Stewart

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer announced on Sunday after the Alabama game that defensive end Dylan Stewart has been suspended from the team indefinitely. The junior defensive end will not play against Kentucky.

"I'll make the decision on what his future looks like beyond this week here in the next day or so. Still having some meetings and talking with him, but he won't play his week versus Kentucky. There's a standard of how we do things in our 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 throw a punch in the 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 in this program and we are all accountable to the standard, so we'll see what that looks like here going forward."

Beamer was asked to clarify "the other stuff" about Stewart's suspension. Was it all related to the game or are there any other details?

"That's between us," he said.

During the game in Tuscaloosa, Jordan Kaye of The State posted video of Stewart refusing to exit the game, when Julian Walker was sent onto the field.

"It gets heated down there. Dylan and a coach - players and coaches - there's intense conversations and things that happen during games," Beamer said. "And you know that you're in a competitive hostile environment. ... We're going to hold guys accountable for things. That's what we're doing here. That's what we do with all of our players. Dylan and South Carolina are not the first place that have had interactions that get heated on the sideline. It's a competitive environment and I've seen a lot of them over the years, whether it be at Georgia or Tennessee or Oklahoma or wherever else I've coached over the years."

Stewart missed the first two games of the season, as he continued to recover from a back injury sustained in 2025. According to Pro Football Focus, Stewart has played 43 snaps, 29 of which were at Alabama. He's been credited with one tackle and five quarterback hurries.

During the post-game press conference, Beamer was asked about a first half confrontation with Stewart that was caught by ESPN cameras during the broadcast.

"We're both fiery guys and it's a fiery, competitive environment," Beamer said. "That's what being in the arena is like."

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