South Carolina Gamecocks' Dylan Stewart named to PFF College Preseason All-SEC Defense

The 2025 college football season gets another day closer, and more preseason recognitions keep rolling in. The PFF College crew recently put out their Preseason All-SEC team for Defense, and one name stood out among those listed. That player? South Carolina Gamecocks' own Dylan Stewart.

Stewart as been touted as one of the top three best edge rushers going into the 2025 season per Sports Illustrated, and it's warrented for what he brings to the Gamecocks. In his freshman year, Stewart had 17 solo, and six assisted tackles, along with 11 tackles for loss. Furthermore, the 6-foot-6, 247-pound edge rusher had 6.5 sacks 13 games. Not to mention that he had three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries to boot.

While he is the only Gamecocks player to be mentioned by PFF College for defense and offense, it shows how impactful he was as a freshman in 2024. If the Gamecocks want to make the college football playoff and win 10 or more games in 2025, Stewart will have to help lead the way on defense.

The Gamecocks in 2024 were led by the defense, which will see a ton of new faces. However, with how this team is coached, expect another huge season from the defensive group as they will be led by Stewart and defensive back DQ Smith once again. It'll be interesting to see how the team fares with them being a 7.5 over/under team in 2025 with a murderers' row of games in the middle of the season. Either way, it's good to see Stewart and the Gamecocks gain some recognition, as some predict to see this team finish fifth in the SEC.

All eyes will be on Columbia as the Gamecocks look to prove the doubters wrong again. Furthermore, it gives Stewart more reasons to ball out in his sophomore season and prove why he deserves All-SEC honors and more. It's going to be a pivotal season for Stewart and the Gamecocks, but it will be one to watch as the season rolls along.