Alabama football TE Josh Ford addresses punch from Dylan Stewart

Alabama football tight end Josh Ford addressed an incident from Saturday's game against South Carolina, where linebacker Dylan Stewart punched him during the fourth quarter. Ford, who did not respond physically, simply smiled when asked about the altercation. He expressed his admiration for Stewart's skill, noting that they had "a lot of fun today" and that the confrontation was a "good battle."

The punch occurred after Alabama had scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Daniel Hill, with Stewart and Stewart standing in the north end zone. Stewart had been struggling throughout the game, failing to record a sack of South Carolina's QB Keelon Russell and not even making a tackle. His only statistical contribution was a single QB hurry.

South Carolina players also lost their temper late in the blowout, but Stewart's outburst drew the most attention due to his talent level. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer acknowledged that the game had moments of choppiness, but expressed pride in his team's dedication to putting the program first.