South Carolina’s biggest offseason question on defense still circles back to Dylan Stewart, and the answer remains tied to his back injury and the medical staff’s timeline.
Coach Shane Beamer said Stewart started dealing with the issue sometime in the middle of his sophomore season in 2025. Stewart played through the year, but he was held out of spring practice and the main approach has been rest.
As preseason practice gets set to open Aug. 7, Beamer said the Gamecocks are encouraged by where Stewart stands.
“They're progressing nicely, they had doctor's appointments this week and everything is positive coming out of those reports " Beamer said July 30. "They're trending in the right direction and eager to get back on the field and know they will be here really, really soon."
Beamer said Stewart has been in a strong “frame of mind” and has been working in the weight room each morning to get a head start. The same update applied to offensive lineman Jacarrius Peak, the NC State transfer who injured his knee during a team bonding basketball event and also missed spring practice.
The question now is whether South Carolina will hold Stewart back through the first two games of the season. The Gamecocks open at home against Kent State on Sept. 5 and Towson on Sept. 12 before the SEC opener against Mississippi State on Sept.
- Beamer’s answer at SEC Media Days was clear: the decision will come down to the doctors.
“We treat all opponents the same," Beamer said July 21. "Every Saturday is a battle.
But for us and for me, it will be just communication with our doctors like it's always been. Good news is, both those two guys are both competitors.
They both want to play Game 1 ... it'll be communication with our medical team, the outside doctors. When they say they're ready to go, then they'll be ready to go and we will put them out there regardless of when and who.”
Even if Stewart is cleared, South Carolina still has work to do around him. The Gamecocks lost key edge players to the NFL, and replacing the production on the other side of Stewart is one of the major jobs in camp.
That need became obvious last season. Stewart broke into the starting lineup as a freshman and posted 6.5 sacks, but he had Kyle Kennard opposite him in 2024. Kennard led the SEC with 11.5 sacks, ranked eighth nationally, and won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
After Kennard left for the NFL, Bryan Thomas Jr. stepped in while Stewart battled the injury last year. Thomas finished with a team-high seven sacks, while Stewart had 4.5. Now Thomas is gone too, and Beamer said the staff knew the offseason had to address that vacancy.
“We knew that was a big thing for us when we went into the offseason or came into January talking about high school recruiting, portal," Beamer said. "We needed to be better there.
We were losing Bryan Thomas. We know what Kyle Kennard did a couple years ago opposite Dylan.
"We know that Dylan's going to automatically, when teams start game-planning against our defense, they're going to sit there and talk about from a protection standpoint how we block (Stewart) ... In order to combat that, we got to have guys on the other side that can certainly stop the run, disrupt the passer, and just play good winning football.”
The competition to fill that role includes upperclassmen George Wilson Jr. and Caleb Herring, the Tennessee transfer, along with five other players who are a redshirt sophomore or younger. Freshman Julian Walker is in the mix as well; like Stewart, he is 6-foot-6 and was a four-star recruit Beamer flipped from Michigan on early signing day.
Walker could end up taking over the spot Thomas held as a true freshman, but Herring’s SEC experience makes him a real contender too.
In Other News...
South Carolinas QB Future Suddenly Carries One Big New Tension
South Carolinas quarterback room has a familiar feel at the top, with LaNorris Sellers back as the starter and the staff intent on getting him back to the level he showed in 2024. Kendal Briles said he has not yet reviewed Sellers 2025 film, but the plan is clear enough: keep developing him into one of the SECs better passers while also bringing along the next wave behind him.
Landon Duckworth is the newcomer drawing plenty of attention, and his arrival adds another layer to a room already trying to sort out depth. The staff is also still deciding who belongs in the third-string role between Duckworth and transfer Lucian Anderson III, which gives the position group a little extra edge as spring and summer work continue. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas Receiver Room Suddenly Gives LaNorris Sellers A New Reason For Hope
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Gibson has not played since 2023, but his recent graduation and return to the mix add another layer to a group already crowded with experienced options and promising freshmen fighting for snaps. In an offense expected to play at a quicker tempo, that competition could matter as much as any one standout, because the more reliable the rotation becomes, the more often Sellers should have answers when plays break down or defenses try to take away the first read. [Read more 🡒]
Gamecocks Still Have One Huge Question About Their Star EDGE
South Carolinas pass-rush picture is starting to come into focus as the program looks ahead to the 2026 season, and defensive ends/outside linebackers coach Deion Barnes offered a useful update on where the group stands. Dylan Stewart remains the headline name, even with his back injury keeping him in recovery mode, while Caleb Herring has emerged as a steady presence after showing improvement and leadership in the room. The Gamecocks also added transfers Caleb Herring and Drew Collins, and they brought in top EDGE prospect Julian Walker in the 2026 recruiting cycle, giving the position group a different kind of depth than it had before.
Still, the most important questions around Stewart are less about talent than availability and readiness, which is why Barnes comments carried extra weight for a defense that needs its best edge players to set the tone. Stewarts mental work has reportedly stayed on track while he rehabs, but South Carolina will want to see how that translates once the season gets closer and the physical part of the job ramps back up. With Herring trending in a positive direction and more bodies in the room, the Gamecocks have options, but the entire edge unit still revolves around what Stewart looks like when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]