South Carolina star Dylan Stewart suspended indefinitely, future with team in jeopardy

The South Carolina Gamecocks have had two consecutive bad weeks. Just a week after losing to Mississippi State 41-34, the Gamecocks went on the road and got blown out by No. 8 Alabama 49-18.

Less than 24 hours after the blowout loss, head coach Shane Beamer announced that one of his star players on defense, EDGE rusher Dylan Stewart has been suspended indefinitely from the team. The news comes after Stewart threw a punch towards an Alabama player after the Crimson Tide scored a fourth-quarter touchdown.

During Coach Beamer's weekly radio show on Sunday, Beamer stated that a "decision on what his future with the team" will be made in a day or two. He added that Stewart will not play on Saturday's home game against Kentucky: 

After the Alabama score, Stewart was seen throwing a punch towards Alabama tight end Josh Ford: 

Stewart was assessed a personal foul penalty after the play. 

“I saw the play that he got the penalty on. I didn’t see it until just now, and that’s unacceptable,” Beamer said via Gamecock Central after the game on Saturday night. “That’s not how we do things around here. I’m embarrassed to see that because that’s not what we’re about.

“Didn’t see it during the game. I knew we had a penalty. I didn’t know what happened. We’ve got a lot of fiery, emotional, competitive guys, and I love that. When you’re in the arena, emotions are high.”

But that was far from the only heated moment from Stewart during Saturday night's game. Also late in the game in the fourth quarter, he was seen refusing to come off of the field even though his coaches wanted to sub him out for true freshman Julian Walker. Eventually he did come off, but was seen sitting on the bench alone: 

Stewart and Coach Beamer also got into it early in the game, as the star defender was seen walking away from his head coach when he was trying to tell him something after a defensive series: 

South Carolina opens as slight home favorites against Kentucky

Stewart's future with South Carolina unclear

To say that this is a shocking development with this Gamecock program is an understatement. Stewart is one of the leaders of Gamecocks defense, accounting for 57 total tackles with 11 sacks and six forced fumbles across the last season. 

Although he missed the first two games against Kent State and Towson while he rehabs back from a back injury he played through most of last season, he has been severely limited in his first two games back. In each of his last two games, he has registered just one tackle. 

Stewart is projected to be a first-round draft pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, with several projections having him go as high as No. 5 overall to the Washington Commanders. 

Depending on if Stewart plays for the Gamecocks the rest of the season, just how many games he misses, and how well he plays could severely damage his draft stock in the coming weeks.

Coach Beamer is scheduled to to have his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon, so there could be an update on his status then.

South Carolina's Shane Beamer offers tone-deaf silver lining after blowout loss to Alabama

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