Isaiah Battle ejected from Clemson-NC State for uppercut punch

Officials ejected Clemson left tackle Isaiah Battle late in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s win over NC State for punching Wolfpack defensive back Jarvis Byrd. With the Tigers trying to milk the clock, Battle got caught near a pair of NC State defenders after a play, and something caused him to uppercut the opposing safety.

The punch knocked Byrd onto his back and led to a skirmish. Battle was immediately pulled from the game by Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and ejected for throwing a punch soon after. There’s no word of additional penalties for the apparent sucker punch at this point.

In a postgame interview with ESPN, Swinney called it a “poor” personal foul before adding, “That isn’t Clemson.”

Battle, a sophomore lineman from Brooklyn, was one of the nation’s top prospects in high school. He played in five games last season as a true freshman before appearing as a back-up in the first three games of the 2013 season.

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