Alabama slumped to 9-4 in Kalen DeBoer’s first season, but it was nearly a five-loss year. After the Tide rallied to take a 27-19 lead with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium, LaNorris Sellers led the Gamecocks right back. The redshirt freshman QB answered Milroe’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard with one of his own, a 31-yard toss to Nyck Harbour to pull within two.
The Gamecocks failed the two-point conversion, and the Tide avoided a three-game losing streak with the matchup sandwiched between losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee, but it was just another sign that Alabama may have fallen back to the pack in the SEC without Nick Saban.
In 2025, Alabama has to make the trip to Colombia before a much-needed bye week in Week 10, and one of the Gamecocks’ best players will be an even bigger thorn in the Tide’s side this time around.
Dylan Stewart will be a superstar sophomore for South Carolina
Jalen Milroe was pressured on 42.9 percent of his dropbacks against South Carolina’s fierce defensive line last season despite posting a 2.91-second time to throw, which was his second fastest to that point in the season. In that matchup, it was Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner Kyle Kennard who dominated, finishing with two sacks and four quarterback pressures. Kennard and interior defensive lineman T.J. Sanders both left for the NFL, but the best pass rusher on Shane Beamer’s roster is back for his sophomore season in 2025.
As a true freshman, it took Dylan Stewart a few weeks to acclimate to the SEC. Alabama was his fourth conference contest, and the five-star managed just one QB pressure. Then, across the final six regular-season games and the bowl game against Illinois, Stewart generated 35 of his team-high 51 QB pressures and dominated opposing offensive tackles.
Stewart’s 16.6 percent pass-rush win rate was also better than Kennard’s 13.1 percent mark and Sanders’s 12.6 percent. Stewart finished the year 12th in the SEC in pass-rush win rate and first among all FBS freshmen.
By Week 9, Wilkin Formby, or whoever wins the starting right tackle job, should be settled in opposite Kadyn Proctor, but that position is unlikely to ever become a strength in 2025. Ty Simpson is considerably less athletic than Milroe, so if he’s pressured on over 40 percent of his dropbacks, he’ll either need to get the ball out quickly, or Alabama’s offense could be in trouble.
There won’t be a better edge rusher in the entire country next season, so while Sellers may be positioning himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate, slowing down Stewart will be Alabama’s biggest problem in Week 9.