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by WILL FOLKS
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University of South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart has been named a first-team preseason All-America by the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) ahead of what’s shaping up as a make-or-break 2026 campaign for Gamecock football.
The elite edge rusher – a consensus top ten selection in the 2027 NFL draft – was the only Gamecock listed on either the WCFF’s first or second team. Clemson’s Sammy Brown was also named to the first team as a linebacker, the only Tiger included on either squad.
Stewart was previously listed as a second-team preseason All-American by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
The 20-year-old Washington, D.C. native has played 24 games over the past two seasons for defensive coordinator Clayton White, logging 56 total tackles. That tally includes 22.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. He’s also forced six (6) fumbles and scooped up a pair of loose footballs.
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A definitional disruptor, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior surprised many college football observers when he joined redshirt junior quarterback LaNorris Sellers and senior wide receiver Nyck Harbor in returning to Columbia, S.C. for the 2026 season. Many believed Sellers, Harbor and Stewart were likely to enter the transfer portal after the Gamecocks’ horrific 4-8 campaign.
After starting last year ranked No. 13 in the nation – and climbing as high as No. 10 following a pair of season-opening victories – the Gamecocks lost eight of their next ten, putting head coach Shane Beamer squarely on the hot seat in his sixth year at the helm of the historically mediocre program.
While 2025 was a year to forget, Beamer was able to retain his top on-field talent and bring in multiple new coaches to revive South Carolina’s moribund offense – most notably offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.
Stewart will benefit from a coaching upgrade on the defensive side of the ball, too, with Penn State’s Deion Barnes replacing former defensive line coach Sterling Lucas (who left to join Lane Kiffin’s staff at LSU).
South Carolina was slated to open its 2026 campaign at Williams-Brice Stadium against national runner-up Miami, but the schools mutually canceled the home-and-home serious last fall. Instead, the Gamecocks will kick off at home on September 5, 2026 against Kent State.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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