Another small school transfer who excelled at a Power Four program
The Rams’ defensive line is filled with players who began their college careers at small schools before excelling at Power Four programs. Stewart is yet another example of this, as he started his collegiate career at Coastal Carolina before spending two seasons at Michigan. Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske all followed the same path.
Stewart’s 12.5 sacks in 2021 led the Sun Belt, ranked fifth nationally, were the most by a true freshman in the FBS and were one shy of the Sun Belt single-season record.
Didn’t start playing football until high school
Stewart didn’t start playing football until he joined Everett (Massachusetts) High School’s freshman team. That inexperience was part of the reason he wasn’t recruited to a top NCAA program, despite being ranked the No. 4 prospect in Massachusetts by 247Sports. Five years later, he won a national championship with Michigan and collected two tackles for loss and one sack in the Rose Bowl against Alabama.