On third-and-15 with four minutes left in the first quarter, South Carolina football edge rusher Dylan Stewart won the battle against Florida’s offensive lineman and used his length to take down quarterback Aaron Philo for a loss of 7 yards.
Stewart got up and did a mild celebration, dancing for a few seconds before moving to the next play.
It was his first sack since Nov. 15, 2025, and just the first of many key plays he made in the 38-19 upset of Florida on Oct. 10, which knocked the Gators (4-2, 2-2 SEC) from No. 15 to unranked in the coaches poll.
And for the junior, his performance was a huge leap forward after a rocky start to the season.
Stewart missed only one game in his first two seasons but three of the first five this year.
The potential top-10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft hurt his back and was sidelined all of the spring and pretty much all summer.
He started practicing in early September before making his season debut on Sept. 19 against Mississippi State. One week later, Stewart was suspended by coach Shane Beamer and the SEC after he was involved in several incidents during the Alabama game on Sept. 26, including punching a player in the helmet.
Stewart wasn’t with the Gamecocks (2-3, 1-3) for the 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky on Oct. 3, but returned to the team Oct. 6.
“I think he was very frustrated (the last few games) because he didn’t feel like he was playing well. He didn’t feel like he was making an impact because he didn’t feel 100%,” Beamer said Oct. 11. “My message to him was, ‘Dylan, you being 50% and only playing 10 plays a game, you’re going to make an impact more than most guys’ . . . so he continues to get better. He’s an impactful player. There’s no question about it. He brings another element to the pass rush.”
Against Florida, he had his best performance of the season by far, with five tackles (four solo), two forced fumbles, one sack and one tackle for loss. Pro Football Focus gave him a career-best 95.8 grade for his defense and a 92.7 pressure grade, the second-highest in his three seasons.
Per South Carolina, Stewart is one of 18 players in the FBS and one of two in the SEC to have multiple forced fumbles in the same game this season. Stewart now has had three games with 2-plus forced fumbles, something only seven other players have done once in program history.
“He was awesome throughout the game, his impact on the field is evident,” Beamer said. “He’s a special talent in the way that he’s able to affect other teams’ offenses . . . I thought he did a great job, not just against the pass, but I really think thought he played the run well, just fitting gaps and being where he was supposed to be.”
Beamer told Stewart that Florida was likely going to “try and provoke” him because he put on tape that he has “to be better about handling (his) emotions.” He was pleased with how Stewart was “poised” and played “disciplined throughout.”
South Carolina has an open date before hosting Tennessee (5-1, 2-1) on Oct. 24.
“This will be a huge couple weeks for him and should see an even better version of him against Tennessee,” Beamer said.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky @bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football’s Shane Beamer predicts even more from edge rusher Dylan Stewart
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