Shane Beamer gives injury update on Dylan Stewart, Jacarrius Peak ahead of Week 2
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Shane Beamer would love to have his star edge rusher and offensive lineman back for Saturday night’s Week 2 home matchup against Towson, but the South Carolina head coach revealed a different reality during his session with reporters on Tuesday.
Dylan Stewart is still dealing with a back injury that originally started midway through last season and NC State transfer Jacarrius Peak is trying to come back from a knee injury sustained while playing basketball at a team bonding event back in February. Peak sat out spring practice, then was forced to sit out last Saturday’s season-opening blowout win over Kent State, with Stewart missing the opener, too.
Unfortunately, the prospects for Stewart and Peak for Week 2 don’t look good either, as Beamer told reporters on Tuesday. Shane Beamer said both Stewart and Peak participated at practice on Tuesday and were in full pads.
But Beamer also told reporters that both players were “extremely doubtful” to play against Towson. There was good news amid that revelation though, as Beamer indicated that both of his standouts could be back for the Mississippi State game on Sept. 19 in Columbia.
Stewart and Peak coming back for the SEC opener in Week 3 has been expected but not guaranteed, but getting both players back against the Bulldogs would be a huge boost.
According to 247Sports, Peak was South Carolina’s highest-rated transfer in the 2026 class, and his return, whenever it happens, will be huge for Beamer’s team in the trenches.
Stewart had 19 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles last season, so his impact to the Gamecocks’ defense would be immediate and enormous.
South Carolina will hope to get both of its key players back on either side of the ball as soon as possible, as the Gamecocks try to bounce back from last season’s 4-8 mark. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about South Carolina’s potential win total for the 2026 season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
