This offseason, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his staff brought in one of the top recruiting classes in recent years. It was a smaller class in number, but on a per-player basis, the Gamecocks landed a top-12 national class, including the first class of the modern era with multiple 5-star players.
On Monday, both of those 5-star prospects earned a special honor.
Offensive tackle Josiah Thompson and defensive end Dylan Stewart were both named to On3's Freshman All-American team, listed on the team at offensive line and EDGE, respectively. The Gamecocks join the Miami Hurricanes, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish as the only programs to have two players make On3's squad.
As things stand today, both Thompsons and Stewart will play significant roles for the 2024 version of the South Carolina football team. In fact, there is a chance that they both start. Thompson appears to be the frontrunner to land the first-team left tackle job, and Stewart is neck-and-neck with several veteran players for the starting defensive end spot.
For Josiah Thompson, his size, length, and athletic ability have made it impossible for the Gamecocks to keep him off the field. He has battled with incumbent Tree Babalade (who also has missed a little time this offseason with an injury) and a couple of veterans.
Dylan Stewart is going to play a lot for the Carolina defense, either in the starting lineup or as a key reserve. With the Gamecocks looking to employ a heavy rotation across the defensive front, the true freshman will have his name called a lot as he gets reps in both the 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 schemes.
Thompson and Stewart are the clear favorites among the freshmen as it pertains to playing time this fall, but there are other first-year guys who could be very important for the garnet and black. Coach Beamer has mentioned multiple times this offseason that Carolina could play true freshmen in the rotation within every position group this season other than defensive tackle and quarterback.
In addition to Thompson and Stewart, names like Mazeo Bennett (wide receiver), Jalewis Solomon (cornerback/nickel), Michael Smith (tight end), Matthew Fuller (running back), Wendell Gregory (linebacker/EDGE), Fred "JayR" Johnson (linebacker/EDGE), and Mason Love (kicker/punter/kickoffs) all could earn big roles this fall.