Dylan Stewart Named Alexander Award Player of the Week

Freshman EDGE Dylan Stewart and the chaotic South Carolina Gamecocks defense held the previously No. 10-ranked Texas A&M Aggies scoreless in the second half to pull off the 44-20 upset on Nov. 2 in Columbia, S.C. In the upset win, Stewart stood out with 2 total tackles, 1 sack and a tackle for loss and was named the Week 10 Shaun Alexander Award Player of the Week by the Maxwell Football Club on Nov. 5.

The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3) have proven to be a pesky out in the Southeastern Conference this season, previously taking No. 14 LSU (6-2, 3-1) and No. 11 Alabama (6-2, 3-2) to the brink before ultimately falling. 

Opportunistic Defense

Thanks to its top-20 ranked defense (18.9 points per game allowed), South Carolina finally broke through with an Associated Press Top 25 win by giving the offense short fields and the opportunity to keep their foot on the gas. 

Stewart and the defense used two fourth-and-1 stops at opportune times to give the Gamecocks the momentum. After taking an early 7-0 lead on its first drive of the game, South Carolina’s defense was ready to stifle the Aggies offense. On A&M’s opening drive, the Aggies attempted a fourth-and-1 conversion from their own 34-yard line, only to have quarterback Marcel Reed rush for no gain and turn the ball over on downs with 9:11 left in the first quarter. Two plays later the Gamecocks went up 14-0 with a 15-yard touchdown pass. 

Despite the quick two-score lead, the two teams battled to a 20-20 tie at halftime, but the defense set the tone again to open up the second half. After forcing A&M to punt on its opening drive in the third quarter and the offense giving the Gamecocks the lead, 27-20, with 9:19 left in the third quarter, the defense came up with another stop on fourth-and-1 from the A&M 31-yard line. South Carolina added a field goal after the stop and opened the floodgates with 24 unanswered points in the second half.

On the Season

Stewart, a 6-foot-6 native of Washington, D.C., has 16 total tackles (13 solo) on the season, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery for the Gamecocks defense that is No. 16 in the country in yards allowed, averaging 304 yards per game. Stewart and South Carolina will look to become bowl eligible next week when they travel to Vanderbilt to take on the Commodores (6-3, 3-2) on Nov. 9.

The Shaun Alexander Award

One of the Maxwell Football Club’s most prestigious awards, the Shaun Alexander Award is presented to the best freshman player in college football each year. Originally named the College Football Freshman Player of the Year Award, the award was established in 2019. The inaugural winner was quarterback Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, while former Alabama and current Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs won the award in 2023.