Clark Lea on Tennessee-Vanderbilt scuffle: 'Our players were fighting for one another'

When Vanderbilt’s bench cleared in the second quarter Saturday afternoon at Tennessee, it was the Commodores standing up for quarterback AJ Swann. That’s how head coach Clark Lea explained the situation after the game. 

Swann was hit twice on plays on consecutive plays that officials were attempting to blow dead due to pre-snap penalties. First it was a false start, then a delay of game. 

“I was upset,” Lea said after Vanderbilt’s 48-24 loss to the Vols at Neyland Stadium. “From where I was sitting, there were two consecutive snaps where after the whistle our quarterback ended up on the ground. 

“To me, part of my job is to fight for our players, certainly for their safety. This is also a guy that we lost out there in the second half. All those hits add up and I was upset about that, and I was upset about the delay of game call.”

The two teams having to be separated ended with two personal fouls on Tennessee and one on Vanderbilt, with the penalties offsetting. No players were ejected.

Clark Lea: ‘I was fighting for AJ (Swann) and fighting for my team’

Lea, who also was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct during the sequence in the second quarter, said he didn’t take objection to any of the calls, but wasn’t going to stand by while his quarterback took hits after the flags.

“There is nothing I can do about that once that flag is thrown, but we will have conversations about it,” he said. “We’ll send it in (to the SEC) and try to get explanations for what happened there. In the moment I was fighting for AJ and fighting for my team and doing everything I can to help shift what I was seeing happening on the field.” 

Swann left the game in the second half after completing 14 of 23 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown, leading the Commodores on a 73-yard touchdown drive on their first possession to tie the game at 7.

Lea said the his team leaving the sideline in the moment is “not something we teach or preach.”

“Anyone who’s watched us practice knows that’s not who we are,” Lea said. “I also think our players were fighting for one another. I think they were standing up for each other in that moment too. 

“Our first covenant is true brotherhood. I respect the fact they were standing up for one another. We never want to cross those lines. We never want it to become something that takes away from the game.”

Officials gave offsetting personal fouls after Tennessee, Vanderbilt players had to be separated

Clark himself came onto the field at one point to separate wide receiver Will Sheppard, who was face-to-face with Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. 

The Vanderbilt bench emptied not long after when Tyler Baron offensive lineman Delfin Xavier Castillo got into it in front of the Tennessee sideline. 

Baron, Castillo and Tennessee’s Dominic Bailey were called for personal fouls. 

“I don’t know what happened,” Tennessee linebacker Aaron Beasley said. “I know it was a bunch of chaos going on. I thought it was funny, but I felt like we regrouped well and we stopped them.”

“The coaches were yelling that at us,” Beasley added. “We realized that we couldn’t get kicked out. It is what it is. We weren’t trying to get kicked out.”

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said he and his staff attempted to send a message to the Vols both on the sideline and again at halftime. 

“It did get pretty chippy there for a little bit,” Heupel said. “Talked about it at halftime, playing smart football. We didn’t necessarily do that. We had more penalties than we wanted.”