This is the NIL era, one where loyalty is the first thing to get traded for the bigger checks. So when South Carolina’s edge coach, Sterling Lucas, packed up to go join Lane Kiffin at LSU, most thought he would take even Dylan Stewart with him. Stewart’s ultimate decision was more complex. He recently broke his silence, explaining for the first time the difficult choice between loyalty to a coach and loyalty to a program.
Stewart admitted his feelings for Lucas and his opportunity to follow him, but he made the decision thinking of his future and legacy. “It was tough seeing [Lucas] leave,” Stewart told The State on February 08 at Lucky Strike. “But he did what I needed him to do. We did what we needed to do for each other. I feel like we put each other in a good spot, and that’s still my guy. There was a possible chance [of following Lucas to LSU]. But I thought about it. It’s [going to be] my last year. I’ve got a place I can call home.
There’s no point in leaving, and I’m still going to do what I always dreamed of. There are great people [at South Carolina]. And I know how bad other places can be, and the stuff they don’t tell you about, you don’t know. The grass isn’t always greener. You don’t know what you’re walking into [going to another program]. I know what I have.”…