South Carolina’s decision to suspend Dylan Stewart indefinitely after his outburst in Saturday’s 49-18 loss to Alabama drew immediate pushback from former Auburn captain Chandler Wooten, who said the punishment was too soft.
Wooten, now a Carolina Panthers linebacker, took to social media to say he did not respect Shane Beamer’s call and suggested Stewart would have been dismissed if he were not such a prized prospect. In his post, Wooten wrote:
"Don’t respect it.
After last night either you are allowing it or get him out of there. If anyone else did what he did they’re out of there
If you’re going to drop your nuts then drop em https://t.co/pxEKzrRIba"
Beamer, for his part, sounded far more forceful in the moment than the eventual discipline might suggest. After the game in Tuscaloosa, he said Stewart’s behavior crossed a line that had nothing to do with the standard inside the program.
"There's a standard of how we do things in our program, and that was not it last night, and it's beyond the punch. The punch is unacceptable... it's some of the other stuff that isn't how we do things in this program," Beamer said.
"That's not how we do things around here," he said. "I'm embarrassed to see that because that's not what we're about."
The incident centered on Stewart, who punched Alabama tight end Josh Ford multiple times during the game. Ford later spoke about it after the final whistle, and Stewart was also caught on camera arguing with coaches.
The whole episode landed as a public-relations mess for South Carolina, especially with Beamer already under pressure. The Gamecocks’ loss to Mississippi State in Week 3 was bad, but it did not end up being their worst defeat; the Bulldogs remained unbeaten after beating Missouri in Week 4.
Still, the Saturday night scene in Bryant-Denny Stadium now looks like the kind of moment that can define a season - or a coach’s future. Stewart is clearly a strong player, but not the kind of talent that can carry South Carolina out of what looks, at best, like a middling SEC year.
That leaves Beamer in a no-win spot. Punish Stewart too lightly, and he takes heat.
Come down harder, and he risks another kind of backlash. Either way, the fallout is already here.
And it is not helping Beamer’s standing that another coaching name is already starting to bubble up. Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner is becoming a popular figure for the next hiring cycle, with his Gators ranked No. 5 in offense and averaging 532.8 yards per game for undefeated, No. 8 Florida.
Faulkner’s background runs deep through Georgia, thanks to his time playing and coaching at Division II powerhouse Valdosta State, which makes him an appealing fit for programs in the region.
That includes South Carolina. Right now, he would look like a cleaner match for the Gamecocks than Beamer.
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