South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart is back at team practices after a suspension and could play Saturday against Florida. Coach Shane Beamer has not made a final decision.
Stewart returned to team activities Monday after serving a one-game suspension imposed by the SEC for striking an Alabama player during the Gamecocks’ loss to the Crimson Tide. Beamer had also placed him under an indefinite team suspension. “He came back today and was in the 8 a.m. team meeting we had this morning, and he was at practice,” Beamer said. He added that Stewart’s status would be decided as the week progressed.
Stewart was a five-star recruit in the 2024 class and one of the most significant recruits of Beamer’s tenure at South Carolina. He recorded 22.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks in his first two seasons with the program. He is recovering from an injury and has not recorded a sack in two games this season.
Beamer said his job is not only to win games but also to help young players grow. He called Stewart’s conduct in Tuscaloosa unacceptable and said he hoped the player had learned from the episode. Stewart’s return would help a team that has lost three straight and is 2-3.
South Carolina’s 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky was its eighth consecutive defeat in SEC play and its 12th loss in the last 14 games against Power Four opponents. Beamer acknowledged that he had not been good enough as head coach and said he was focused on preparing for Florida.
The coach also said social-media comments about his job beneath a post about his daughter’s high-school senior night, on the eve of the loss to Mississippi State, had bothered him. He said he had not checked his phone for three weeks. Beamer said he was relying on conversations with athletic-department officials, the university president emeritus and donors rather than online speculation.