Fox Sports gives high praise to South Carolina freshman
The South Carolina defense has carried the load for the Gamecocks this season. Probably the best defensive position group on the field this fall is USC’s defensive line. The entire defensive tackle rotation has been good, and EDGE players Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart have been dominant.
Most of the Gamecock front are veterans, but Stewart is contributing majorly as a true freshman.
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Recently, Fox Sports’ Rob Rang had some high praise to offer Stewart. Speaking about the South Carolina freshman in his article “NFL Draft can wait: 5 true freshmen already dominating college football,” Rang compared Stewart to a Gamecock legend. Said Rang, “South Carolina hasn’t boasted an edge rusher with this kind of juice since Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall selection a decade ago.”
Dylan Stewart is not eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. 2027 will be the first year he could go pro, and some already are predicting the Gamecock defensive end will be a top-5 pick. While Rang didn’t give an official 2027 projection for Stewart, he said that the young man reminds him of a former 1st round pick.
Rang compared Stewart to former All-American and current NFL Pro Bowler Montez Sweat. Sweat, who played at Mississippi State, resembles Stewart physically and in production, but the young Gamecock possesses a higher ceiling.
Stewart’s length, strength, and athleticism have impressed Rang and the rest of the college football world. The young pass rusher seems nearly unblockable, and if it weren’t for the game-wrecking play of Kyle Kennard hogging all the stats from the other side of the Gamecock front, Stewart’s box score numbers would reflect how good he has been during the start of his collegiate career. Both his college and NFL futures appear bright.
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Through his first six games, Dylan Stewart has a claim as one of the best freshmen in South Carolina history. He is on pace to set a new freshman record for sacks and has been even better than his stats.
So far this fall, Stewart has logged 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. He’s also tallied an uncountable number of quarterback pressures and has been one-half of the SEC’s most dynamic pass rush tandem along with senior Kyle Kennard.
Stewart, Kennard, and the rest of the USC defense could be in for a big day next Saturday. The Gamecocks play the Oklahoma Sooners next, and OU has had severe offensive line struggles this fall. Because of this, the Sooners have been among the nation’s worst teams in terms of sacks allowed.
South Carolina and Oklahoma will kick off Saturday at 12:45 p.m. on SEC Network and the ESPN app. The matchup in Norman will be the first meeting between the two programs.
