COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer has scored another major win in recruiting, landing Dylan Stewart, one of the top football prospects in the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Stewart verbally committed to the Gamecocks Thursday, endings weeks of speculation of where he might go. The 6 foot 5, 245 pound defensive lineman is the 15th highest-rated recruit nationally according to ESPN and 17th on Rivals.com.
The Gamecocks beat out Ohio State, Georgia, Miami, Alabama, and Penn State for the five-star recruit’s services. In recent weeks, recruiting websites had been saying he was trending toward South Carolina.
In an interview with ESPN, he said a recruiting visit he had with the Gamecocks over the summer sealed the deal.
“I love the people at South Carolina, I love the city and state,” he told ESPN. “I know I’ll be good up there and I didn’t have a doubt in my mind about it.”
He also said he had a good rapport with Beamer.
Overall, South Carolina now has seven commitments from players ranked ESPN’s top 300 list for 2024. That includes Kam Pringle of Dorchester, SC who is rated as one of the top offensive linemen in the country.
The five-star recruit is from the Washington, DC area and attends Friendship Collegiate Academy. It’s the second straight season the Gamecocks have brought in a five-star recruit, and both hail from the greater DC area. Earlier this year, Nyckoles Harbor agreed to join the team. Harbor will line up for USC this fall, likely as a tight end or large receiver. (He’ll also run track for the school).