Already signed, Stewart helped recruit, discussed future position during OV
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The first recruit Sam Pittman visited after being officially announced as Arkansas head coach last month was Jashaud Stewart.
The three-star prospect from Jonesboro - who signed with the Razorbacks in December - returned the favor by traveling to the opposite side of the state for his official visit this weekend.
Although the only signee among the group of 13 visitors in Fayetteville, Stewart was one of three already on the board, as commitments Jaqualin McGhee and Nick Turner were also in town.
Their goal was to help convince the other 10 players to join them at Arkansas and they managed to do that will three pulling the trigger Saturday - Jacorrei Turner, Eric Thomas and Khari Johnson. However, Stewart feels like more could eventually commit to the Razorbacks.
“I feel like it, especially being on with Coach Pittman and the new staff,” Stewart said. “I feel like we’ll get more commits.”
Making this the perfect recruiting weekend for Pittman was that it matched up perfectly with Arkansas’ highly anticipated basketball game with No. 10 Kentucky. Despite the Razorbacks coming up short, the visitors were able to experience a wild atmosphere inside a sold out Bud Walton Arena.
“The highlight was the Kentucky and Arkansas game,” Stewart said. “The fans rocked. It was a crazy atmosphere. You could barely hear yourself talk in there. It was crazy.”
It’s been a while since Arkansas has had a crowd like that for any sport outside of baseball. With back-to-back 2-10 seasons on the gridiron, football attendance dipped to an all-time low last season.
Getting a taste of that atmosphere, though, gives Stewart hope that he and his fellow 2020 signees and commitments can help turn the program around and get Reynolds Razorback Stadium back to that level of excitement.
“(With) a new staff, we’re all coming in hungry and it’s going to be different,” Stewart said. “It’s going to be a different atmosphere.”
For Stewart specifically, the visit gave him an opportunity to talk to all of the assistant coaches, such as defensive coordinator Barry Odom, defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc and linebackers coach Rion Rhoades.
It’s not quite clear who will be his position coach at Arkansas because he’s capable of playing defensive end, the position he’s listed at on Rivals, or linebacker. Pittman said back in December that he could see him playing either one and it sounds like they’re still not sure where he’ll end up in fall camp.
“They really were not sure,” Stewart said. “It depends on what defense they’re going to be running. They’re just ready for me to come up here so they can kind of see my strengths and my weaknesses.”
When asked if he had a preference, Stewart said he didn’t and that he just wanted to play. He also didn’t rule out the possibility of playing both.