South Carolina football true freshman Dylan Stewart is going to need a bigger mantle in his dorm room.
The 5-star EDGE player dominated his first collegiate game (a tighter-than-expected 23-19 win over the Old Dominion Monarchs) and has received what feels like a never-ending stream of weekly awards and accolades come his way since the final whistle.
So far, Stewart earned the highest PFF grade of the week, was chosen as PFF’s National Defensive Player of the Week, was picked as the National Freshman of the Week by both 247Sports and On3, and has been the subject of countless “This dude is only a freshman?!” internet takes. Commemorating his 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and huge play that set up the game-winning touchdown, another honor came his way on Wednesday morning, too.
The big performance also earned Dylan Stewart the Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Week. Being chosen for the award automatically would have nominated Stewart for the full-season Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, but the first-year player already was picked for the award’s preseason watch list.
Named after former Alabama Crimson Tide and NFL running back Shaun Alexander, the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award is given to the top freshman (either true freshman or redshirt freshman) in the sport.
Through his first collegiate game, Stewart couldn’t have done any more to live up to the hype of being a consensus 5-star prospect who signed with a program that doesn’t often land consensus 5-star players. If he can continue being a force on the Gamecock defensive line, not only will USC have a real opportunity to have its best pass-rush season in quite some time, but Stewart, himself, will grow into one of the country’s most coveted 2027 NFL Draft prospects.
Stewart and the Gamecocks will take the field again in just three days as the South Carolina football team will travel to Lexington, Kentucky for a date with the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium. Fans can tune in for the game at 3:30 PM ET on ABC, ESPN+, or the ESPN app.
