Why Shane Beamer wants star Dylan Stewart 'literally doing nothing' to recover from injury
COLUMBIA — South Carolina football star edge rusher Dylan Stewart is still not participating in spring practice because doing "nothing" is the best way to heal his back injury.
"We're still evaluating everything to allow him to be the best player, best version of himself he can be when we start the season in September and right now that means literally doing nothing," coach Shane Beamer said March 24.
This injury goes back to last season, said Beamer, who added that Stewart was "never 100% the last of half of the year" and battled through discomfort. He missed time in the second half of the final game vs Clemson, a week after he was out for the entire game against Coastal Carolina.
Stewart was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2025 with 33 tackles, a team-leading 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He was a Freshman All-American in 2024.
Beamer discussed his injury briefly in December, saying similar things about rest being the biggest thing for his recovery. Beamer said then Stewart didn't need surgery and was asked March 24 if that's still the case.
"From visiting with the doctors and specialists, the best thing for him right now from a physical standpoint is to literally do nothing and just let everything rest," Beamer said. "So that's what we're going to do. If I got something to report, I'll report it at some point but right now he's resting and right now we expect him to be 100% full go when we kick the season off."
Stewart was a five-star recruit out of high school and helped Beamer win a career-best nine wins in 2024 but in 2025, South Carolina went 4-8, the worst under Beamer in five seasons.
Beamer said as of March 24, he had no new injuries to update.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com . Follow her on X @Lulukesin and Bluesky @bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dylan Stewart's injury, South Carolina star's update from Shane Beamer
