Shane Beamer made it clear Tuesday that Dylan Stewart’s future at South Carolina is in his hands, not anyone else’s.
Stewart is not with the team right now after the Gamecocks and the SEC issued a joint suspension, and Beamer said his role going forward will be his call alone.
“No, [Stewart is] not with the team right now,” Beamer said in his weekly news conference (h/t On3). “And to answer your question and [a prior] question, his role or involvement on this team will be decided, you know, going forward, by me. But right now, he’s not with the football team this week.”
South Carolina would love to have the pass-rusher back if the situation gets resolved. Stewart has the kind of upside that can change a game off the edge, and over 2024 and 2025 combined, he has 56 tackles and 11 sacks.
But this season has been rocky from the start. Stewart missed two games while recovering from an injury, then came back against Mississippi State and finished with just one tackle.
Things then boiled over in Week 4 during South Carolina’s 49-18 loss to Alabama. Stewart refused to leave the game when an assistant coach tried to send in a replacement, which sparked a sideline argument. He also had a confrontation with Beamer on the sideline.
The situation escalated further in the fourth quarter when Stewart threw a punch at the helmet of Alabama tight end Josh Ford. Officials did not see the play live, but the SEC later ruled that Stewart had made “egregious contact” with Ford.
Beamer said the issue goes beyond that one moment. He stressed that Stewart is loved inside the locker room and that he loves the player, too, but also said Stewart’s conduct has not matched the program’s standard.
“There’s a standard of how we do things on and off the field in this program, and there is an accountability level that is demanded, regardless of who you are and how good a player you are,” Beamer said. “The accountability can’t be a pick and choose, and the standard of how we do things - it can’t be a pick and choose. And that’s what I’ve just conveyed to the team, and that’s what I convey to Dylan, and the players have been awesome.”
In Other News...
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Former South Carolina standouts kept showing up across the NFL in Week 3, giving Gamecocks fans plenty to track on Sunday. The roundup stretched across several teams and included the kinds of contributions that can matter even when they do not always grab the biggest headlines, from tackles and catches to plays around the goal line.
For a program that has long sold itself on sending talent to the next level, these weekly NFL snapshots are part of the fun. They also offer a reminder that South Carolinas reach is spread across the league in a lot of different roles, with former Gamecocks making their presence felt in games that mattered for their new teams. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Faces An Early SEC Test That Could Reshape Its Ranking Push
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Kentucky arrives with a defense that has been strong by national standards, even as its offense has left some questions unanswered. Oddsmakers still see South Carolina as a 2.5-point favorite, a sign that the Gamecocks have a chance to steady things in a game that feels important well beyond one Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys Surge Gets A Real Test In Columbia
Kentucky is back in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since October 2023, and the timing gives Saturdays SEC trip to Columbia a little extra weight. The Wildcats have strung together two straight wins behind efficient quarterback play and a ground game that has looked more dependable lately, which is a different kind of challenge for a South Carolina team trying to steady itself in conference play.
South Carolina enters the matchup trying to snap a seven-game SEC losing streak, and the Gamecocks will have to do it without defensive end Dylan Stewart, who is serving a one-game suspension after egregious contact in a recent game. Kentucky has earned the right to be taken seriously again, but this is also the kind of road test that can tell you whether the surge is real or just a short-lived lift. [Read more 🡒]