What makes USC’s Dylan Stewart special? We asked coaches who faced the 5-star defender

Over in the United Kingdom, one of the highest honors bestowed upon a civilian is a knighthood. It does not change the person, per se, but changes how we refer to them. In interviews, Elton John becomes Sir Elton John. When he appeared on the Masters broadcasts, Nick Faldo was addressed as Sir Nick Faldo.

The same is true in football recruiting. Except “Sir” is replaced with “5-star,” which denotes football royalty.

It is the highest honor granted to a high-school prospect and becomes a temporary prefix. Last season, South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor was not just Nyck Harbor. He was 5-star Nyck Harbor.

The same is true for Gamecocks signee Dylan Stewart, who inked with South Carolina during the early signing period on Dec. 20 and moved to Columbia on Thursday. The star from Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C. became the highest-ranked recruit outside of the Palmetto State to ever sign with USC.

He is a consensus 5-star prospect — the top player in Washington, D.C., the second-best edge rusher in America and the No. 17 overall recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

On Wednesday, Stewart took part in the Under Armour All-American Game in Orlando, wowing with his freakishness. Early in the game, he had a free lane to rush the passer but his instincts kept him in coverage and he batted down a pass. A little later, he ran through the top offensive tackle in America, Colorado signee Jordan Seaton, and forced a fumble.

The announcers did not just mention he was a 5-star headed to South Carolina. They said there “have been some murmurs” that Stewart might be the best defensive lineman to play in Columbia since Jadeveon Clowney.

His showing during the All-American Game provided a glimpse of what he might be in college. To understand what impact he might have in garnet and black, though, The State talked with a half-dozen high school football coaches who had to prepare for Stewart.

‘South Carolina has a diamond’

Years ago, Matthew Faircloth — now the head coach of Hedgesville High in West Virginia — played againstformer No. 1 overall draft pick Mario Williams in a North Carolina high school game. He says that only to preface the praise he heaps onto Stewart.

“This young man,” Faircloth said of Stewart, “is well beyond what Mario was when he was a junior and I was a senior. He’s got a motor and he’s all over the field. Even if you run away from him, you still have to worry because he’ll chase you down from behind.”

Two seasons ago, Faircloth was prepping all week for Hedgesville’s non-conference showdown against Stewart’s Friendship Collegiate Academy (FCA) squad. The Friday before, Faircloth drove to D.C. to scout FCA against Edgewood and spent the next seven days getting his guys prepared to face Stewart.

When he showed up to the field, though, Stewart told the opposing coach he wasn’t suiting up. Part of Faircloth was disappointed his squad wouldn’t get the opportunity to play FCA at full strength, for his kids to get their Mario Williams moment and see how they stacked up. The other part of him was so dang happy he didn’t have to say Stewart’s name all night.

“Any time a guy like that is not on the field, it’s better for your team,” Faircloth said.

Friendship came out with a 35-0 victory over Hedgesville that night, but Faircloth was so enamored with Stewart that he drove 90 minutes to D.C. on two separate open weeks to go watch the 5-star.

“When you watch a kid like that, there’s very few kids you get to see who do the things he does,” Faircloth said. “His first step, I’d put it up there with anyone I’ve ever coached against or played with.”

What truly makes him special, Faircloth said and many others echoed, is the versatility. Stewart is so big, so fast, so athletic that he is not bound to a position. He is like a defensive Deebo Samuel, able to change responsibilities and positions on a play-to-play basis.

“That made it tough,” said Thomas Meert, the second-year offensive coordinator at Gonzaga College High School in D.C. “I don’t know if it was freelancing or freelancing by design, but he would just make a lot of instinctive football plays.”

He could line up at defensive end on one snap, then play as a three-technique on another and then shift to middle linebacker if needed.

“Your quarterback has to do some dummy cadences and snap the ball late to try and figure out where he’s gonna be,” said Kevin Nesbitt, the head coach of Coolidge HS. “But the thing about it is, he closes fast.

“We tried to run away from him, but his closing speed is just — it’s next level,” Nesbitt added. “One time we were running to the left side and he was on the right and he closed. It looked like my guy was gonna get a first down and (Stewart) chased him down from the backside.”

Stopping speed is one thing. Trying to figure out where the speed is coming from is another. He is a game-plan menace, and coaches spend all week not just trying to know when he’s going to line up on the edge then drop to linebacker, but simply the side of the field he’ll be on.

“We wanna try and get a sign of when is he gonna line up on the left or when is he gonna line up on the right?” said Maurice Vaughn, the head coach of Dunbar HS who was 0-3 against Stewart. “Does the formation dictate it or what? We spent more time trying to prepare for where he’s gonna be than normal. That’s the thing playing against him.”

Added Bruce Hocker, the offensive coordinator at Riverdale Baptist School: “South Carolina has a diamond. I think South Carolina is going to take advantage of his size and intangibles.”

What makes Dylan Stewart special

Dunbar’s 2023 season was bookended by Stewart and FCA. In the season-opener, Friendship beat Vaughan’s squad, 19-6 — and that was despite Stewart getting ejected (then suspended for the next game against Southern California powerhouse St. John Bosco) for shoving a Dunbar player.

“To be honest, I was happy to see him out,” Vaughan said with a chuckle. “Even though I lobbied for him to not be suspended for the next game because I didn’t think he should have been kicked out (in the first place).”

Over three months later, Stewart was back on the field as Dunbar got its rematch against FCA in Washington. D.C.’s Class AA Championship.

Things were looking good a few minutes before halftime. FCA was up just 7-0, but Dunbar’s defense was playing well enough to keep it in the game. Problem was: Dunbar’s defense wasn’t facing Stewart. He sacked Dunbar’s quarterback just before halftime, forcing a fumble that he snatched and ran 26 yards into the end zone.

“That was the game-breaker,” Vaughan said.

Stewart has the ability to flip the momentum of a game. Hugh Brown, the head coach of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School in Virginia, knew that. He also had a plan for Stewart when he played FCA in October (a 28-21 Friendship win).

Brown wanted to send a message his guys weren’t gonna back down. On the first play of the game, St. Michael sent its best athlete, 6-2, 200-pound former Syracuse commit Michael Matthews-Canty, in motion to block Stewart like he was a tackling dummy.

“Mike knocked him into next week,” Brown said. “We hit that dude and he felt it. I know that. I think he sat out the second quarter — I don’t know if it was related.

”All I can tell you is this: He played the entire second half and absolutely destroyed our offensive line. … One-on-one, we could not block him.”

Brown will always remember that. He will also remember meeting Stewart in the handshake line. First off, the 6-foot Brown only came to Stewart’s shoulder. Secondly, the guy who St. Michael sent a walloping message to shook Brown’s hand, congratulated him on a great effort and walked through the line without any chirping.

“He was a grown man,” he said.

In the era of 7-on-7 and passing leagues and offensive fireworks, Brown loves nothing more than a guy like Stewart, the type of defensive player that can impact everything on a football field while hardly recording a stat.

Stewart did not have a sack against St. Michael until very late. But his presence and tenacity changed everything its offense did that night.

“Wherever he was, we were going the other way. Either with a run, or we would set our pass protection to him,” Brown said. “They figured it out, because everyone does it, and that’s when they moved him — instead of being outside as a stand-up defensive end — moved him inside. … And he made more plays than we did.”

Meert, the Gonzaga OC, had a similar plan as Brown, but took it even further. On almost every pass play, Gonzaga’s center, guard, tackle and even running back would slide toward Stewart.

“It’s not a good scheme. I would not advise doing this,” Meert said. “If they brought any sort of pressure the other way, they would have had a free hitter on the quarterback every time. But we felt like we had to neutralize (Stewart) and this is a way to do it.”

Meert is no stranger to 5-star talent. He was an offensive assistant at Gonzaga when future Heisman winner Caleb Williams was leading the offense and projected top-10 NFL Draft pick Olumuyiwa Fashanu was blocking for him. And, to him, Stewart is a “special player.”

But he’s not special because of his highlight tape. Or even his stats. He’s special because of his consistency. Speed. Elusiveness. Size. Strength. He’s special because he is a stress-inducer to any coach tasked with stopping him. Because they know if you do not focus on Stewart before every snap, he will explode off the line like a souped-up hot rod, swim past your offensive lineman and find the football.

Meert vividly remembers one such instance. Back in a game during Stewart’s junior season, Gonzaga had a protection bust and the 6-4 rusher had a clean shot on the quarterback.

“I wasn’t sure that the quarterback was going to get up from that hit. Luckily he did and he was fine,” Meert said. “That one stands out to me just how violently explosive this kid is.”