CLEMSON — Three witnesses have refuted the recent assault of high and aggravated nature claims brought against Clemson sophomore safety DeAndre McDaniel.

According to Clemson attorney Chris Olson of Olson, Smith, Jordan and Cox, P.A., three witnesses — two of whom were in McDaniel’s off-campus apartment when the alleged incident occurred Saturday morning — have filed statements with Clemson University Judicial Services about the matter.

One is McDaniel’s roommate; another is his neighbor. A third witness was in McDaniel’s apartment at the time. Copies of the statements were obtained by the Independent-Mail through a source close to the investigation.

“Obviously, there are two sides to the story,” Olson said. “Some of these people and witnesses, what they say is in direct conflict with what the accuser says.”

According to McDaniel’s arrest report from the Central Police Department, McDaniel and his girlfriend got into an argument when she asked him about exchanging his phone number with another female at a club earlier that evening.

The accuser told authorities McDaniel turned over on top of her, pulling the bed’s comforter over her head and choking her while jerking her head up and down and striking her with a closed fist in the face and head.

The report said McDaniel pushed her down a flight of stairs and punched her outside the apartment.

She was treated at Oconee Memorial Hospital for contusions to her chest and face as well as a sprained neck.

The witnesses’ statements differ.

No one witnessed what happened in McDaniel’s bedroom, although one witness in the apartment said arguing was normal between the two and “I didn’t hear anything that would sound like a brutal attack or anything like that. So I stayed out the way because I figured nothing violent had happened.”

One witness said McDaniel “repeatedly” asked the accuser to leave and eventually carried her down the stairs to do so, saying “Let it go, let it go.” He put her down after the first flight of stairs and told her he would remove her things from the house, take them to her car and “get rid of her that way.”

The witness said while McDaniel was taking things to the car, she locked herself in his bedroom for 10 minutes. She later followed him back into the house and as McDaniel walked into the kitchen to get her things out of there, she said she wanted to do it herself.

He obliged, but the accuser left instead.

“As she walked past me leaving, I did not notice any bruises or anything on her,” the witness said. “She looked normal to me. In fact, smiling like nothing had happened. Once she got to the door she started to yell, and one thing she yelled was “You will regret this.”

A neighbor said the accuser was laughing when she left.

“She stated, ‘I’m going to leave. I know the law. My mom or relative has been working with that stuff for about 20-30 years, so I know I’m not going to be the one going to jail. I saw her continue to giggle as she got into the car and then she drove away.”

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden released a statement earlier this week saying he was aware of the incident and gathering facts about the matter.