All hands on deck for five-star Dylan Stewart
July 31, 2023South Carolina had one of its biggest recruiting events of the summer this weekend and Josiah Thompson was keeping a close eye on one specific prospect. Thompson, the Dillon offensive lineman who committed to the Gamecocks in April, made sure he spent a lot of time with five-star defensive end prospect Dylan Stewart at the cookout Friday at Williams-Brice Stadium. The event included some of the Gamecock's top prospects for the Class of 2024, 2025, and 2026 and featured games including a scavenger hunt. The Gamecocks are one of the favorites to try and land Stewart, the five-star defensive end. Stewart has visited South Carolina multiple times including his official visit back in June.
Thompson and the other commits for the Class of 2024 made another plea with him over the weekend. The Gamecocks have yet to land a defensive lineman for the class. According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Stewart is the 10th-best player in the Class of 2024. “Come here man, we need you. Iron sharpens iron. We got the tackles, now we need a defensive end,” Thompson told The State on Sunday, recalling his message to Stewart. “We can help each other become great, especially at the next level. It would be a great get for us.” Stewart has South Carolina, Ohio State, Georgia, Miami, and Maryland as his finalists. He’s taken official visits to each one except Maryland. All five remain in the hunt.
Getting Stewart would be a huge boost for the Gamecocks’ class, which includes eight four-star prospects ranked by 247Sports including Thompson. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports’ recruiting rankings. “This class is special and it is showing with a lot of four and five-star recruits coming to South Carolina,” Thompson said. “It just shows you South Carolina can continue to be something great in the future in college football.” After spending Friday in South Carolina, Thompson was back on campus on Sunday to participate in High School Sports Report’s Media Day to talk about the upcoming season. The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder said things have slowed down a bit since he committed to South Carolina and he has been focused on getting ready for his senior season.
