Clemson football coach Tommy Bowden told ESPN.com that he was hit in the back of the head with a mini glass liquor bottle while on the sideline during the Tigers' loss at Virginia Tech on Thursday night.

Tech assistant athletic director Sharon McCloskey told The Roanoke Times on Friday that a Tech police officer in the stands saw a man "dressed in Clemson gear" throw the bottle. She said the man was ejected from the stadium; he was not arrested.

McCloskey said a Tech officer guarding Bowden on the sideline told her Thursday night that Bowden was hit by an "airline-type" bottle.

Police "said it was a Clemson person that did it," she said. "The policeman told me they didn't think he was trying to throw it at the coach; he was just trying to throw it out there. I don't know ... whether they thought they got a bad call or something."

"Had I turned and had it hit me in the eye, it would have killed me," Bowden told ESPN.com. "It was glass. That's what scared me."

Shuman to get scoped

The Hokies learned Friday that starting left guard John Shuman may have sustained a torn left ACL.

Shuman, a third-year sophomore, was injured during Tech's first scoring drive Thursday. He left the game with what initially was announced as a sprained left knee.

Hokies head trainer Mike Goforth said an MRI taken Friday revealed "an increased signal in the ACL," which means there's at least a tear in the lateral meniscus. Goforth said Shuman will have an arthroscopic evaluation Tuesday by Dr. Marc Siegal.

Goforth said Siegel will first evaluate the lateral meniscus. If he has to trim the meniscus, Shuman would be out approximately four weeks.

If the meniscus has to be repaired or if Shuman needs ACL surgery, he would miss the rest of the year.

Brandon Gore is expected to take Shuman's starting spot.