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Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Staff Writer
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer got one of his biggest recruiting wins on Tuesday, when five-star edge Dylan Stewart announced his commitment to the Gamecocks.
Stewart is the No. 15 recruit overall in the 2024 class, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound prospect out of Washington, D.C. and the No. 3 defensive end in the class. Stewart chose South Carolina over Ohio State and believes he has found the right fit for him.
“It was the people, I love the people at South Carolina, I love the city and state,” Stewart told ESPN. “I know I’ll be good up there and I didn’t have a doubt in my mind about it.”
Stewart had offers from nearly every major program in the country and had taken visits to Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, Alabama and plenty of others. The Gamecocks won out, though, and it was his official visit in June that sealed the deal for him.
Stewart said he had narrowed his list down to South Carolina and Ohio State, but after taking a visit to see the Gamecocks over the summer, he had no doubt that was where he was supposed to be. A big part of that was the head coach, Beamer, and what he learned about his future coach on the visit.
“He’s very much a player’s coach,” Stewart said. “That’s all (the players) talk about is how good of a coach he is. I saw how he interacted with the players and the coaches.”
Stewart will play the JACK position for South Carolina’s defense, which will allow him to use his versatility. The coaches have told him he’ll rush from multiple places, off the ball blitzes, drop into coverage and stunting to get him to the quarterback.
He knows it’s going to take time and work to see the field, but he has high expectations for the impact he wants to make once he gets to campus.
“I’m a day-one starter,” Stewart said.
Stewart is the first five-star recruit to pick the Gamecocks since defensive end Jordan Burch in the 2020 class. He’s now the highest ranked commitment in the class and gives South Carolina seven ESPN 300 commitments in the 2024 cycle.