‘The grass isn’t always greener:’ Why Dylan Stewart chose to remain a Gamecock
If this college football offseason has proved anything, it’s that — while the transfer portal is open — fans have to assume there is always a possibility their favorite player will enter the portal.
Even signing a contract to return — as Duke QB Darian Mensah proved — guarantees nothing.
So, yes, it would’ve been natural — heck, expected — for South Carolina fans to be nervous about the future of edge Dylan Stewart in late December.
The transfer portal had yet to officially open when South Carolina edge coach Sterling Lucas left for LSU. That, of course, brought about questions regarding Stewart’s loyalties: Did he want to stay a Gamecock or follow the man who recruited him to Columbia and formed a tight bond with him over the past two years?
Stewart answered the question not long after, signing a deal with South Carolina to return to USC for his junior season. And — even more important in this day and age — he was still a Gamecock when the transfer portal closed in mid-January.
“It was tough seeing (Lucas) leave,” Stewart told The State following an autograph signing at Lucky Strike on Saturday, “but he did what I needed him to do. We did what we needed to do for each other. I feel like we put each other in a good spot and that’s still my guy.”
Stewart said Lucas called him before taking the LSU job, and the young pass rusher told his position coach to do what was best for him.
Of course, though, there was a push to get Stewart to LSU — and Stewart, he said, weighed his options.
“(There) was a possible chance (of following Lucas to LSU),” Stewart said. “But I thought about it. It’s (gonna be) my last year. I’ve got a place I can call home. No point in leaving, and I’m still going to do what I always dreamed of.”
Stewart, who’s racked up 12 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles in his two seasons at South Carolina, would’ve likely been the top prospect in the transfer portal if he entered.
Instead, Stewart stayed put and will still enter next season as a projected top-10 pick in the 2027 draft class, a notion that will likely draw further comparisons to Gamecock great Jadeveon Clowney.
And this was not loyalty for the sake of the loyalty. This was Stewart making a mature, calculated decision that seemed to come down — at least, in part — to taking account of what he knows and what he doesn’t.
He’s knows what it’s like to play at South Carolina, to play under Shane Beamer. He knows the vibe and atmosphere in the Gamecocks’ locker room. He has a feel for living in Columbia. To leave would be to give all that up — and for what? For the shot that maybe everything is better somewhere else? Stewart didn’t think that was a smart gamble.
“There’s great people (at South Carolina),” Stewart said. “And I know how bad other places can be and the stuff they don’t tell you about, you don’t know. The grass isn’t always greener.”
He continued: “You don’t know what you’re walking into (going to another program). I know what I have.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2026 at 8:00 AM.
