Dylan Stewart, standout South Carolina edge, reveals plans for 2026 season
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Dylan Stewart will play another season in Columbia. Stewart, a standout edge rusher, took to social media on Tuesday to announce that he has decided to “run it back” at South Carolina.
Having completed his true freshman and sophomore seasons, Stewart was not yet eligible for the NFL Draft. In the portal and NIL era, though, it’s far from guaranteed that any player returns to the same school for the next season. That’s especially true when a player’s position coach is hired away.
As a true freshman, Stewart played in South Carolina’s 13 games of the 2024 season, starting 11 times. He logged 23 total tackles, including 17 solo stops and 10.5 TFLs with 6.5 sacks.
This past season, Stewart played in 11 games, all starts. He increased his total tackles to 33 and TFLs to 12, posting 4.5. Earlier this month, Shane Beamer praised Stewart for gutting it out while playing with what the Gamecocks coach described as a “broken back.”
Stewart’s announcement follows an eventful news cycle when it comes to the South Carolina coaching staff. LSU announced Monday that it had hired Sterling Lucas, Stewart’s position coach, away as part of Lane Kiffin’s staff. The Gamecocks are reportedly replacing Lucas with Deion Barnes, formerly of Penn State.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
