South Carolina Defense Awaits Alabama With Dylan Stewart Nearing Full Role
The short version
- Dylan Stewart, returning from a back injury, is expected to take on a larger role against Alabama after limited snaps vs. Mississippi State.
- South Carolina allowed 41 points to Mississippi State in its SEC opener after shutout-adjacent wins over Kent State and Towson.
- Former Alabama reserves Kelby Collins and Justin Okoronkwo now play significant roles for the Gamecock defense.
- Defensive tackle Gabe Brownlow-Dindy is out injured, opening a starting spot for Collins.
- South Carolina's defense has troubled Alabama in each of the last two seasons.
The Gamecocks bring back coordinator Clayton White and a veteran defense, but questions remain along the line and secondary ahead of Alabama's visit.
South Carolina's defense will be the next test for Alabama's offense, and the matchup arrives with the Gamecocks rebuilding momentum after a rough start to conference play. Defensive coordinator Clayton White is in his sixth season in Columbia, retained by head coach Shane Beamer since 2021, and the scheme remains largely the same as in past years.
White's defense is a multiple-front, one-gap system that leans heavily on man coverage and frequent blitzing. A core emphasis is creating one-on-one matchups for edge rushers against offensive tackles and letting those pass rushers operate in space.
The season opened well enough. South Carolina shut out Kent State and held Towson to nine points across its first two games. The SEC opener went far differently, with Mississippi State — surging behind quarterback Kamario Taylor — putting up 41 points while the Gamecock defense appeared overwhelmed for much of the afternoon.
The centerpiece of the defense is junior edge rusher Dylan Stewart, who has been projected by many as a future top-ten draft pick thanks to his rare athleticism and length. A lingering back injury kept him out of the end of last season and the first two games of this year. He returned on a limited snap count against Mississippi State and is expected to carry a heavier workload against Alabama, though some rust is likely given his long layoff.
With Stewart limited, Caleb Herring and Anthony Addison have handled the edge duties, and Addison has recorded a pair of sacks. Inside, veteran defensive tackle Gabe Brownlow-Dindy is out injured, and former Alabama reserve Kelby Collins is expected to start. Collins, a tweener who could not carve out a role with the Tide last year, may face a size disadvantage if Alabama commits to the run.
At linebacker, another former Alabama player, Justin Okoronkwo, has been exceptional since transferring and currently leads the Gamecocks in tackles. He was an excellent special teams player as a freshman at Alabama and is a highly athletic linebacker. Fred Johnson and Shawn Murphy also return from last season's unit.
The secondary features Vicari Swain at cornerback in his first extended run as a full-time starter after earning All-SEC recognition as a punt returner last year. Judge Collier starts opposite him after contributing regularly the past two seasons, and Peyton Williams returns at safety. Notably, all five starting defensive backs are homegrown Gamecocks who never came through the transfer portal.
South Carolina's defense has given Alabama problems in each of the last two meetings, and continuity on the coaching staff and roster suggests that could continue. Questions linger, however: the defensive line may have slipped from a year ago, Stewart's readiness is uncertain, and it is unclear whether the poor showing against Mississippi State's passing attack was an outlier or a genuine weakness in the secondary.
For viewers tracking the matchup, the key storylines are how much Stewart plays, whether Alabama tests the undersized interior with its run game, and whether South Carolina's man-coverage secondary can rebound from a difficult SEC opener.
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