Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | L 34-41vs Mississippi State | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
#6
Dylan Stewart
Dylan Stewart already has 11 career sacks and six forced fumbles -- and he can't even enter the NFL Draft until 2027. He's one of the best edge rushers in college football, and South Carolina has him for a while.
6′5″ · 250 lb · Washington, DC
CFB Index 68 · #141 of 583 LBsMedium confidenceNational watch
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
On production he ranks #141 of 583 LBs; on reputation he is on a national watch list. The gap between those two numbers is the story.
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026 · through week 3
1 game into 2026 so far -- Best game: 1 TFL, 1 tackles, vs Mississippi State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Dylan Stewart already has 11 career sacks and six forced fumbles -- and he can't even enter the NFL Draft until 2027. He's one of the best edge rushers in college football, and South Carolina has him for a while.
- Signed as a 5-star recruit to South Carolina in 2024.
- Named Preseason All-America in 2026.
Buzz vs Tape
Country hotter than the fans
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 52.5 points in belief.
17.5own fans
70national conversation
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
172 windows · 2026 fan posts
dylan×43.6carolina×13.3south×12.3
“OT Jordan Seaton, WR Jeremiah Smith LB Colin Simmons, ED, Texas and CB Leonard Moore definitely All-Americans. — Dylan Stewart, ED, South Carolina Trevor Goosby, OT, Texas David Stone, DT, Oklahoma”
youtube/The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast · fan post, verbatim
The story
Stewart announced himself as a unanimous Freshman All-American and just kept coming: 56 tackles, 11 sacks and six forced fumbles across his first 24 games, the production of an edge rusher who's both fast off the ball and disruptive once he arrives. At 6-5, 245, he pairs explosive bend with a knack for the strip. He's officially back, and because of his age, he isn't draft-eligible until 2027 -- meaning a top-three returning edge talent is locked in for a defining junior year, paired with the return of quarterback LaNorris Sellers. The forward stakes are Resolves 2027-01-20.PENDING: the tools and the early production already make him one of the most dangerous pass rushers in the sport.
The record
A falsifiable call from this player's outlook. Not yet gradeable.
What we said
the long runway produces a double-digit-sack, All-America season
Graded as: at least 10 defensive SACKS in 2026.
What happened
Resolves 2027-01-20.
PENDINGHis career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Stewart is a bend-and-burst edge rusher -- the modern speed-rush archetype. The trait that pops on tape and in the numbers is the corner: explosive get-off and the flexibility to flatten to the quarterback, which is how a player produces 11 sacks this early. The six forced fumbles add the finishing element -- he doesn't just get there, he rips the ball out. At 6-5, 245 he's still filling out, which is the exciting part: the speed rush is already elite, and the power and counters that come with a stronger frame would make him complete. He's a quarterback's nightmare off the edge with a runway most stars don't get.
Written by our staff.
202411 games
- Signed with South Carolina5-star out of Friendship Collegiate Academy
202510 games
- All-SECsecond
2026
- Preseason All-AmericaFirst Team
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★★
CFB
College
South Carolina
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥇
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2026)
1 selectors honored him
🎖
ALL-SEC · 2ND TEAM
All-SEC 2nd team (2025)
Badges
- Honors Badge
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
South Carolina
Played his entire career under Shane Beamer.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | South Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | South Carolina | 31 | 18 | 11.5 | 4.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | South Carolina | 23 | 17 | 10.5 | 6.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 55 | 36 | 23.0 | 10.5 | 3 | -- | -- |
Game log
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Shane Beamer — 15-13 over that span.
2024South Carolina9-4HC: Shane Beamer · Run-heavy
2025South Carolina4-8HC: Shane Beamer · Run-leaning
2026South Carolina2-1HC: Shane Beamer · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
High confidence
Elite: qb hurries (93rd percentile). Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 1.0 TKL/g, 1.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Shane Beamer
Pass share
45.6%
99 pass / 118 run
Plays / game
72.3
3 games
Team sack rate
5.4%
111 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
National watch / fringe AA
In the All-America conversation, short of a selector's first team.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
Outside shot to repeat All-SEC
Based on 2025: #20 of 76 SEC LBs
How the All-SEC estimate is computed
22% estimated, 95% confidence interval 19–25%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Selector Grid · 2026
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
How he plays
Play style
Stewart is a bend-and-burst edge rusher -- the modern speed-rush archetype. The trait that pops on tape and in the numbers is the corner: explosive get-off and the flexibility to flatten to the quarterback, which is how a player produces 11 sacks this early. The six forced fumbles add the finishing element -- he doesn't just get there, he rips the ball out. At 6-5, 245 he's still filling out, which is the exciting part: the speed rush is already elite, and the power and counters that come with a stronger frame would make him complete. He's a quarterback's nightmare off the edge with a runway most stars don't get.
Our classifier reads him the same way: fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
DNA match
Player DNA
Thumper
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
EDGE
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Cam'Ron Stewart’s 2025 season.
56%match
All-AAC
Differs from Cam'Ron on
Class year (lower)
Hurry rate (higher)
PD rate (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Nik Bonitto's sophomore season at Oklahoma (2021).
69%match
All-Big 12NFL Rd 2 · Pk 32
Matches Nik on
Tackle volume
PD rate
Hurry rate
Differs from Nik on
Height (higher)
Sack rate (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like Dylan Stewart
The defensive line · South Carolina
- #6Dylan Stewart11.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #39Caleb Herring6 tackles for loss · 2025
- #13Tomiwa Durojaiye4.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #27Drew Collins3.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #97Kelby Collins3 tackles for loss · 2025
12 more on the roster · South Carolina team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology