South Carolina has put Dylan Stewart on an indefinite suspension after his outburst in Saturday’s 49-18 loss to Alabama, but former Auburn captain Chandler Wooten thinks that punishment goes nowhere near far enough.
Wooten, now a Carolina Panthers linebacker, said he does not respect Shane Beamer’s decision and suggested Stewart would have been kicked off the team if he weren’t viewed as a top-10 2027 NFL draft prospect.
“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 addressed the incident after the game in Tuscaloosa, and his comments were much harsher than the eventual suspension might suggest.
“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.”
Stewart punched Alabama tight end Josh Ford multiple times during the game, according to Ford’s postgame comments. Stewart was also seen arguing openly with coaches, with cameras catching the outburst.
For South Carolina, it has become a messy public-relations problem. Stewart is a good player, but not the kind who can lift this roster into something major in the SEC, and the Gamecocks already look headed for a middling season at best. That makes Beamer’s position even more awkward: he would have been hammered for doing nothing, but this response still leaves him exposed.
If Beamer eventually loses his job, this is the kind of night that will be remembered as the start of the slide.
The loss to Mississippi State in Week 3 was already a bad one, even with South Carolina favored. But the Bulldogs have stayed undefeated after beating Missouri in Week 4, and the Alabama collapse may end up looking far worse in the bigger picture.
One name already floating around for the next South Carolina opening is Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. Florida’s No. 5 offense is averaging 532.8 yards per game for an undefeated, No. 8 team, and Faulkner’s background runs deep through Georgia and his time at Division II power Valdosta State.
That profile would make him a strong fit in the region. It would also make him a better fit at South Carolina than Beamer.
In Other News...
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Dave Canales addressed the call afterward and pointed to the hit on Deshaun Watsons head as the reason the flag was thrown, even as Panthers fans bristled at how costly the ruling became. Carolina still had two chances to get back even after that, but the offense came up empty on a turnover on downs and then an interception, leaving the penalty to loom even larger in a game the Panthers had every chance to steal. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Loss Exposed An Offensive Problem Fans Wont Ignore
A rough afternoon against Cleveland put Carolinas offense under the microscope, and not just because Bryce Young was forced to deal with steady pressure. The run game never gave the Panthers much relief, and the combined effect of those issues made it harder for the offense to find any rhythm, especially with injuries also thinning out key spots across the roster.
What stood out most was how little confidence the Panthers seemed to have in leaning on the ground game when the game tightened up. For a group that spent the offseason trying to upgrade its protection and stabilize the offense, the lack of push up front was hard to miss, and it leaves a familiar question hanging over how this unit is supposed to hold up when the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]