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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With the Razorback defensive line room in need of replenishing after the departures of three 2021 starters, players and coaches are not shy about mentioning one name in particular.
With just seven total tackles to his name in two seasons at Arkansas, junior defensive lineman Jashaud Stewart has earned the praise of his coaches and teammates — on both sides of the ball — for the strides he has made this offseason.
Following Saturday's scrimmage, head coach Sam Pittman said the 6-foot-2-inch, 243-pound Stewart was "playing the best" of the 20-man group he raved about at SEC Media Days so far.
Stewart, a Jonesboro native, saw action in each of the Hogs' 13 games last season, making his lone start in Little Rock against UAPB. First-year defensive line coach Deke Adams said he looked raw, a commonly used word to describe players in the room Tuesday, in the spring but has developed his game since.
"One thing you couldn’t deny about him, he played very hard," Adams said. "He ran to the football. Did a lot of great things in that aspect. But then as he started to learn the system, learned what we were doing and got better fundamentally, then he started to become this dude that I didn’t think he was going to be right away."
Senior defensive lineman Zach Williams lauded the effort Stewart exerts in everything he does.
"Everybody knows he’s not the biggest one and not the strongest one, but when it comes to heart, I’d say he has the biggest heart out of all of us," Williams said. "He’ll just put everything on the line play by play. Some people, we get a little bit off track, but Jashaud is laser focused. That’s what helps him and is why he’s doing so good."
Redshirt junior Eric Gregory echoed Williams' thoughts on their fellow lineman, and he even showed a smidge of jealousy.
"I wish I could add that to my game, really," Gregory said. "Seeing that every play, it makes you want to be like that and want to be better."
The admiration of Stewart's play is not just confined to the head Hog and the defensive line room, however. Redshirt senior offensive lineman Dalton Wagner tipped his cap to him last week as well.
"Standouts, at least from my side, have been Jashaud Stewart," Wagner said. "He is a motor guy. He’s so fast, he’s so strong, he’s talented and he just never gets tired. It’s awesome to see, it’s so much fun to go against because it forces me to do things that are out of the normal for an offensive lineman. You’ve got a little play clock in your head of seven second and he’s still going, you better keep going too."
As the Razorbacks gear up for what some consider to be the toughest schedule in college football (again), they need multiple players to step up and fill the gaping void left by Tre Williams, John Ridgeway and Markell Utsey.
If the first 10 days of fall camp are any indication of how the season might play out, Jashaud Stewart is poised to take that step up.
"Right now, man, he’s playing hard, he’s being physical," Adams said. "He plays with a great pad level. He’s running to the ball, he understands the system. He’s doing a lot of great things for us."
