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Name: Josaiah Stewart
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Everett (MA) Everett
Position: Defensive end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #5
Last year: Stewart played at Coastal Carolina. He made 36 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass breakup.
TTB Rating: N/A
Stewart was offered by Michigan when he came out of high school in the class of 2021, back when Michigan had a strong connection in New England with then defensive coordinator Don Brown (who is now the head coach at UMass). But for whatever reason, Stewart ended up at Coastal Carolina and exploded as a freshman with 12.5 sacks, which made him First Team All-Sun Belt. His numbers fell off a little bit in 2022, though 10 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks still make for a decent season.
Stewart transferred to Michigan in the off-season and participated in the spring game. He's a little undersized at 6'1" but I think his play is still going to translate to the Big Ten. He may not rack up 12.5 sacks in a season or be a first team all-conference player, but if Michigan's impressive defensive tackle group can eat up interior blocks and give Stewart one-on-one opportunities against offensive tackles, he's going to win his fair share of battles. I think he will play more than Eyabi Okie, who was a one-year rental last year and now playing for Charlotte. Okie was a pure pass rusher, whereas Stewart should be able to hold up a little better against the run.
Prediction: Backup defensive end; 25 tackles, 4 sacks
He probably won't get double digit sacks, but I can imagine him destroying weak competition, and creating a better pass rush than we got from Harrell & Co last year
ReplyDeleteI suspect he's much better than okie and will play much more. Id put him about 10 spots higher because edge rush is so important. Especially against OSU.
ReplyDeleteI think he'll thrive playing beside our DTs. But there's some projection there admittedly as he's still unproven at this level.
I won't disagree that rushing the passer is important, but again, Mike Morris was not fully healthy and Michigan did well.
DeleteYou must remember the fiesta bowl a lot differently than I do
DeleteMorris wasn't a great pass rusher (nor is Harrell) and the coaches have talked about how they had to blitz more than they wanted to. Okie earning a big role as quickly as he did was a red-flag IMO. They were low-key a little desperate.
DeleteOn the season, the defense was pretty strong despite the dropoff from Hutchinson/Ojabo, which is the best argument for your point I can think of. However, in my opinion it's very noticeable that the 3 biggest opposing point totals came against pass heavy teams - Maryland, OSU, TCU. The schedule didn't really test Michigan's D much, and when it did they where competitive games until late. Fortunately those 3 games were not ones where the offense struggled the way it did against Illinois.