Shane Beamer and company continue to establish ties through their DMV to Forever to Thee pipeline emphasis. Once again, it has paid off but this time in the form of a 2024 prospect in heralded edge rusher Dylan Stewart. Stewart, a top-100 player in the 2024 class comes to the Gamecocks from Friendship Collegiate Academy in DC where he is ranked as the #1 player in the state and #2 overall Weakside Defensive End in the class.

He has continued to praise DE Coach Sterling Lucas for his efforts during his recruitment and says that he made him feel like the #1 priority which was key in getting him on board. "It's the way they've been recruiting me and how many times I've been up there," Stewart previously said. "I'm very comfortable with the place. I just know everything about it there. I've been paying attention to what coach Lucas has done while he was in the NFL and the guys he's trained."

Stewart has the size and athleticism to make an immediate impact for the Gamecocks off the edge. The 6'5 245 lb Stewart has been described as a "freak of nature" and was being pursued by some of the top programs in the country. His offer list included Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, LSU, USC, Florida State, and many others.

Earlier this summer Stewart was elevated to a 5-star prospect by Rivals. Stewart chose the Gamecocks after making several unofficial visits to South Carolina throughout last season, an official visit earlier this summer, and a final unofficial visit this past weekend for the Cookout.

It's hard to overstate the impact Stewart makes for the Gamecocks 2024 class, which has landed two fresh commitments in the last 3 days, jumping them up to #27 in the 2024 team rankings, but more impressively, they're now #10 if you filter for average star ranking.

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