Dylan Stewart is on track to be back in uniform when South Carolina goes to Gainesville to face No. 16 Florida on Saturday.
Shane Beamer said Thursday on his Carolina Calls radio show that the Gamecocks’ star pass rusher will travel with the team, as long as nothing unexpected changes before then.
“Dylan will travel with us tomorrow to Gainesville,” Beamer said, “assuming he continues to do what he’s supposed to do over the next day, which I’m confident and have no doubt that he will.”
Beamer also said he liked the way Stewart responded after a difficult stretch for the program.
“And I’m proud of Dylan,” Beamer continued. “Last week was a rough week for all of us, but how he took ownership, took accountability, the way he handled his teammates this week and the way he practiced the last couple of days has been what we wanted to see. And (we) need to continue to bring him along and keep progressing as we go into Saturday.”
Stewart’s return would cap a turbulent week after a series of incidents in South Carolina’s Week 4 loss to Alabama. He punched an opponent, pushed a teammate, refused to be subbed out and threw a tantrum on the sideline, leading Beamer to suspend him indefinitely. The SEC later added its own one-game suspension.
Beamer had been careful not to give a full answer on Stewart’s status earlier in the week. On Tuesday, he said Stewart was back in practice and had returned to all team meetings, but stopped short of saying the defender had been cleared for the Florida game, which kicks off at 12:45 p.m. on SEC Network.
Wednesday’s initial SEC availability report offered another hint that Stewart was trending toward playing, since he was not listed among South Carolina’s unavailable players.
When healthy, Stewart has been one of the most impactful players on the roster. The former five-star prospect from Washington, D.C., was the highest-rated recruit to sign under Beamer. In 26 games at South Carolina, he has 57 tackles, 23.5 TFLs, 11 sacks and six forced fumbles.
This season, though, his production has been limited. Stewart missed the first two games because of a back injury that had carried over from the end of last season, then managed only one tackle against Alabama and Mississippi State in 43 snaps. He has played between 40 and 55 snaps in each game in 2025.
South Carolina could still be short-handed in other spots. A number of Gamecocks were listed as “doubtful” for Saturday, including OL Carter Miller, edge Julian Walker, DT Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy and edge Julain Walker, all of whom have started this season.
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South Carolina Faces A Pressure Test That Could Deepen Everything
South Carolina heads into its matchup with Florida carrying plenty of weight on its shoulders, and not just because of what the game means in the standings. The Gamecocks have spent the week trying to steady themselves after recent struggles, while the noise around coaching uncertainty has only made the backdrop more tense. Florida brings an offense that can stress a defense in a hurry, which means South Carolina will need a cleaner, sharper performance than it has shown lately.
The matchup feels like more than a simple SEC midseason test, because the result could shape the mood around the program well beyond Saturday. South Carolina has enough pieces to make this interesting, but the margin for error is thin against a Florida team that can punish lapses. However this one plays out, the pressure surrounding the Gamecocks is not going away quietly, and the stakes make the game worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]