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They called him a six-star recruit. A 6'5" (1.95 m) and 250 lb (113 kg) high school student who ran the 40 yards in 4.6 seconds as a pass rusher. Literally, every powerhouse in college football wanted him, and that 's no exaggeration. You only have to look at their recruitment profile. Ten of the top 12 universities in the 2023 ranking, his last year of high school, made him offers. Alabama wanted it. Georgia wanted it. Ohio State wanted him. Texas wanted him. Literally, anyone with common sense would want this guy on their team. Dylan Stewart was a once-in-a-generation prospect. The type of player who only appears very occasionally. He was dubbed
the number one pick in his NFL draft class before playing a single snap in college. And it seems that the only thing standing in Dylan Stewart's way is himself. Because while rival coaches have spent the last two seasons wondering, "What the hell are you doing with Dylan Stewart?" To try and stop it, a new group of NFL coaches is about to ask themselves that same question, and not in a good way. Indefinite suspensions, fights with coaches, unsportsmanlike fouls, simulating shooting multiple players with guns. What the hell are you doing with Dylan Stewart? Meet the biggest question mark of the 2027 NFL Draft. Stewart grew up
in Washington, D.C., and attended Friendship Collegiate Academy, where he quickly established himself as one of the most fearsome defensive prospects in the country in 2023. As a junior, Stewart recorded 16 sacks, leading his school to the state championship. He was selected to the "all-state" and "all-metro" teams and eventually became one of the most sought-after recruits in the entire class of 2024. He was the 19th-ranked player in the nation and the second-best "edge" behind Jordan Ross of Tennessee. And there was one name that kept coming up when people talked about his potential. Jadeveon Clowney.
Clowney was possibly the most physically gifted defensive prospect that college football had ever seen. He was a recruit, the number one player in the class of 2011, and eventually became the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. And now, more than a decade later, South Carolina had the potential to be home to another athletically prodigious defensive end who looked like he could follow that same path. And Stewart was determined to make Columbia his home. Despite offers from virtually every major program in the country, Stewart committed to South Carolina on August 1, 2023. His reason? The opportunity to develop within the SEC and the relationships he had built with the technical staff. But above all, it was
simply because he grew up in Washington D.C., a city that has an elite pipeline to the Gamecocks program, with dozens of top recruits following the same DMV to South Carolina route over the years. For Shane Beamer, this was a huge recruiting victory. Stewart became the highest- rated recruit in South Carolina history since Clowney. And just like that, the Gamecocks had another potential defensive superstar to build on. And quickly, guys, I just wanted to say that if you enjoy this video and the college football coverage we 've been doing on this channel, please be sure to like and subscribe. It's the best way to support us. His rookie season was as impressive as anyone could have imagined. This wasn't just a
highly qualified recruit acclimating to the SEC. He was immediately one of the most disruptive defensive players in the conference. In his first college football game, he achieved one and a half sacks and forced two fumbles. For their second game, Kentucky was no joke and marked him with three men. He was a true first-year student. At the end of his 13-game season, Stewart recorded 23 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, six and a half sacks, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. And while the Gamecocks were enjoying the emergence of their new defensive superstar, Stewart was also beginning to show a side of himself that would become a recurring problem.
Week five, 2024. South Carolina was being absolutely demolished by Ole Miss, trailing 27 to three in the third quarter. But Stewart finally managed to get to quarterback Jackson Dart for a sack. And instead of celebrating with his teammates, he stood over Dart and began pretending to shoot him with an imaginary shotgun. Not once, not twice, but several times. Of course, the referees immediately threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, costing South Carolina 15 yards and giving Ole Miss an automatic first down. But apparently that wasn't enough because just minutes later, Stewart made another tackle for loss and repeated the same celebration. At this point, even former Gamecocks running back Mike Davis took to
Twitter pleading with him to stop. Now, obviously, a rookie's stupid celebration isn't exactly grounds to dismiss someone as an NFL prospect. But it was the first indication that Stewart's emotions could sometimes overwhelm him. And sadly, that wouldn't be the last time. By the time he reached his second season, Stewart was no longer just an exciting young prospect. He was one of the most highly regarded defensive players in college football in only his second year. CBS Sports ranked him as the sixth- best player in the entire country at the start of the 2025 season. And with a full year of SEC experience under his belt, expectations were sky-high. But as Stewart continued to produce, the discipline problems became harder
to ignore. In 11 games, he finished with 33 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four and a half sacks, three forced fumbles and two passes defended. But then came the third week. South Carolina was facing Vanderbilt and Stewart was having a productive night. He had already recorded multiple tackles for loss and pressures on the quarterback. But with the Gamecocks losing 31 to seven, the situation turned ugly. He received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, his second of the game, and was sent off. And this is where the conversation about Stewart started to change, because there's a difference between being an emotional freshman and being a player who repeatedly puts his team in terrible situations because he can't
control his emotions. And NFL teams were starting to have a fairly considerable number of these incidents. But unfortunately, his junior season was about to take that conversation to another level. Stewart enters this year as one of the biggest names in the game. He was selected to the AP preseason first-team All-American, projected as a top-five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and, to many, the best defensive player in the country. But things didn't exactly start off in the best way. A back injury kept him out of South Carolina's first two games, and he didn't make his season debut until September 19 against Mississippi State. Then came week 4 against Alabama. South Carolina
traveled to Tuscaloosa and Stewart's night quickly turned into a disaster. First, he was penalized for a late hit on Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, extending the Crimson Tide offensive series. Then came the confrontation with Beamer. The head coach was visibly furious with his star defensive end, yelling at him on the sidelines after the penalty. Stewart seemed to respond with shouts, and the two had to be separated before Beamer finally led him down the sideline. But that wasn't even the worst of it, because later in the fourth period, Stewart had an altercation with Alabama tight end Josh Ford, and appeared to hit him in the helmet. He was sanctioned for unsportsmanlike conduct and the SEC's video review later determined that the contact
warranted an additional punishment. And just like that, the conversation about the most talented player in South Carolina changed completely. Beamer announced that Stewart had been suspended indefinitely, saying his behavior did not represent the program's standards. The SEC also imposed a one-game suspension on him for what it described as an egregious act of contact. It was no longer a matter of a freshman having a reckless celebration. He was a junior, one of the leaders of the defense, who repeatedly put himself above the team. And for a player who was supposed to be preparing for a massive NFL contract, it was a pretty terrible image. But, as is often the case with this pendulum-like conversation surrounding him, when Stewart
returned from his suspension against Florida in Week 6, he of course reminded everyone why NFL teams are so fascinated with him. Five tackles, one sack and two forced fumbles in a surprising 38-19 victory over the Gators. And that's the problem with Dylan Stewart. You can spend an entire Saturday questioning his maturity, his discipline, and whether he's someone you want representing your franchise. Then, he steps onto the field and makes an opposing offensive tackle look like he's never played football before. Through South Carolina's Week 8 game against Oklahoma, Stewart has accumulated 10 tackles, three and a half tackles for loss, two sacks and three forced fumbles in five games. So what the hell are you doing with Dylan Stewart?
This is where things get incredibly complicated for NFL teams. Because there's no doubt that Stewart has first- round talent, and he's still projected as a potential top-five pick. At 6'5" and 250 pounds, with the explosiveness, agility, and first step to consistently beat NFL-caliber offensive tackles, he possesses virtually everything you'd want in an elite pass rusher. The comparisons to Jadeveon Clowney aren't entirely unfounded. South Carolina has another prodigy capable of becoming a franchise-changing defensive end But Clowney was also an example of what happens when expectations become nearly impossible to meet. And Stewart's situation raises a completely different set of questions.
Can he control his emotions? Can he accept coaching? Can he stay on the field? And most importantly, can an NFL organization trust him to represent the team without becoming a distraction? Now, of course, it's also worth remembering that Stewart is still young. He's made some incredibly poor decisions, but that doesn't automatically mean he's a bad person or incapable of maturing. There are plenty of examples of NFL players who entered the league with temper questions and ultimately They became outstanding professionals. But there are also others who just don't get it. Just look at a guy like James Pierce, who went from being projected as the first overall pick to going 26th due to
off-field issues and is now returning from an eight- game suspension for being arrested. So, the question is whether a team is willing to risk everything on a guy like Stewart. The physical tools are already there, no doubt. And if he can figure out the rest, the team that drafts him could end up with one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL. But if he doesn't, they could be wasting a top-five pick trying to manage a problem no one has been able to solve. Dylan Stewart might be the most talented defensive prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft, but he could also be the riskiest bet.
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