Virginia player ejected for ‘flagrant personal foul.’ Dabo Swinney, Tony Elliott react
Saturday’s Clemson-Virginia football game featured Tony Elliott returning to his alma mater to face off his good friend Dabo Swinney — and a fourth-quarter ejection for a veteran player.
Early in the fourth quarter of the Tigers’ 48-31 win over the Cavaliers, Virginia defensive end Ben Smiley III received a “flagrant personal foul” penalty and was ejected after an altercation with Clemson offensive lineman Tristan Leigh.
The scuffle, which took place around the 11:29 mark of the fourth quarter with Clemson was on offense, drew a number of Clemson and Virginia players off the bench and onto the field and was a tense scene for about 10 seconds until coaches and refs got the game under control.
Postgame, Swinney said he wasn’t sure what happened to cause the scuffle and Elliott said the same. Virginia’s coach apologized on behalf of Smiley for his ejection, which was a chippy moment late in an ACC game that had already featured a few personal foul penalties earlier in the game.
“Just unacceptable for Ben to react that way,” Elliott said. “I talked to him in the locker room. He’s very remorseful. He knows that’s not truly a reflection of his character.”
Added Swinney: “I didn’t really know what happened. I still don’t really know. ... They got into it and it must’ve been something for them to eject the guy.”
At the time of the scuffle, Clemson was leading Virginia 38-17. The Tigers were facing a fourth-and-1 at Virginia’s 46-yard line and picked up the first down with a 7-yard Phil Mafah run before the altercation between Leigh and Smiley caused the scuffle.
“This got nasty in a hurry,” ACC Network broadcaster Chris Cotter said.
Players from both teams left benches to approach the interaction near midfield while coaches from both teams tried to diffuse the situation. Smiley initially pushed away the arm of a Virginia staffer trying to escort him off the field before leaving the field and speaking with Elliott.
The refs flagged Smiley for a 15-yard “flagrant personal foul” penalty as a result of the play, which gave Clemson a first-and-10 from Virginia’s 24-yard line, and added that Smiley had been ejected from the game.
The ACC Network broadcast showed Smiley continuing to engage and argue with Virginia staffers on the sideline before removing his helmet and walking back to the locker room.
So what happened?
“It’s hard to tell, but I did look at the video, and it looked like maybe, as Tristan was trying to get up, he might have stepped on his leg a little bit and then stepped over him,” Elliott said.
An ACC Network replay showed that Leigh and Smiley were tangled up on the ground after the rushing play and Leigh appeared to step over Smiley after the play. Smiley then tackled Leigh back to the ground by his legs in reaction.
It’s unclear from available broadcast and video angles if Leigh did anything else to prompt Smiley to tackle him in response and cause the midfield meeting between teams.
“Sometimes your emotions get the best of you,” ACCN analyst Mark Herzlich said as the broadcast showed Smiley walking to the locker room.
Clemson went on to add a field goal on that offensive drive and defeated Virginia 48-31 to move to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the ACC this year. UVA dropped to 4-3 (2-2 ACC).
Postgame, Elliott said “nobody wants to win more” in Virginia’s locker room than Smiley, a sixth-year graduate defensive end from Richmond, Virginia.
“He understands, and the team understands, that we’re not going to respond that way,” Elliott said. “That’s not who we are, that’s not how we play the game and that’s not how I coach the game. He’ll take accountability for it, and we’ll learn, we’ll grow and we’ll move on.”
It was the second time an opposing player has been ejected at a Clemson football game this year. On Sept. 21, N.C. State offensive lineman Anthony Belton was ejected in the second quarter of a 59-35 Clemson win after referees said he spit on Tigers defensive lineman Tré Williams after a play.
There were four personal foul penalties during Saturday’s Clemson-Virginia game: one on Virginia’s Smiley and three on Clemson players.
Tigers tight end Jake Briningstool and defensive end Jahiem Lawson were both called for unnecessary roughness penalties and offensive lineman Marcus Tate was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct during the final minute of the game.
“Probably the biggest disappointment for me was I didn’t think we were as disciplined today as we needed to be,” Swinney said. “Too many penalties, too many personal fouls. As coaches, that’s on us. … Plenty of things discipline-wise we can clean up.”
Next Clemson game
Who: No. 10 Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC) vs. Louisville (4-3, 2-2 ACC)
When: Saturday Nov. 2 (time TBA)
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson
TV: TBA
This story was originally published October 19, 2024 at 6:31 PM.
