What other South Carolina EDGE rushers said about Dylan Stewart a week into fall camp
Dylan Stewart hasn’t even played a single snap in a game at South Carolina yet. But through the first week of practices in fall camp, the freshman EDGE has quickly garnered the attention of his teammates.
“He’s different, I ain’t going to lie,” junior EDGE Bryan Thomas Jr. said.
The hype surrounding Stewart has been there since the moment he committed to the Gamecocks in August 2023. As a five-star EDGE, he became the the third highest recruit South Carolina has ever landed. The other two? Jadeveon Clowney and Jordan Burch. Pretty good company to be in.
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But it’s not just seeing the stars that’s caused all this excitement. There’s a reason why he receives so much hype. Others in the EDGE room, like Thomas, have had a first-person look at how he attacks in practice.
“As a freshman like that, to have the get off like that and be explosive as he is, it’s crazy to see something like that, for real,” Thomas said.
As a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy (D.C.), earned DCSAA Class AA all-state honors after recording 16 sacks. To put it into perspective, Stewart had five less sacks as a junior than South Carolina had as a team (21) last season. While it’s a great number against high school competition, it’s something the Gamecocks hope he can do in college.
And as if that isn’t convincing enough to buy into the hype, Stewart also underwent a major body transformation this summer. He posted before and after photos of himself on X (formerly known as Twitter) to showcase the gains he made in the weight room. He’s now listed at 6-foot-6, 248 pounds on South Carolina’s roster. It’s a night and day difference.
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Assuming his summer improvements can translate to the real games, it could be an exciting next few years for fans to watch him play as a Gamecock.
“Being an older guy and seeing a guy like Dylan, the first thing that pops out is just his God-given ability, his speed, his athleticism,” redshirt senior EDGE Gilber Edmond said. “That’s a big part of the position that we play the game in the that we play. He has that down pat, so it’s exciting to see. I feel like he’ll be a very special player.”
