South Carolina football fans knew better than to hold their breath waiting on Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney to discipline the two Tigers who were arrested earlier this offseason.
Junior Clemson defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart was arrested after a speeding stop for having empty beer and liquor containers and a gun in his vehicle. He was only charged for the traffic infraction and a weapons violation.
Freshman wide receiver Noble Johnson was going beyond double the speed limit when he struck another car, injuring the two people in the other vehicle. He was only charged with reckless driving.
According to a report from On3's Matt Connolly, neither player will face much of a consequence for their actions as they were both back with the team within a week or two of their arrests. Johnson will miss the spring with an injury suffered in the collision.
When Coach Swinney spoke publicly for the first time about the incidents last week, he said that the two players would face internal discipline only for the arrests. Swinney said that Capehart and Johnson have gone through the "processes and procedures that are in place from a university standpoint."
In speaking about the two young men in question, Swinney simply stated that they are "two good kids...two learning opportunities for both of them."
The long-time coach said that " kind of remove himself from the situation" of disciplining Capehart and Johnson. He likened the situation to how coaches are not involved in the treatment process for injured players and pass off the responsibility to doctors and trainers.
With the amount of traffic-related incidents that have plagued college football in recent years (especially at the University of Georgia), Swinney and Clemson seemingly doling out no substantial consequences for these incidents is disappointing.