Juco ATH is big time
Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College is blessed with some of the best talent in the Jayhawk Conference and most of the successful players for the Greyhounds are players that already well known around the league.
However, coach Jeff Sims says there's a new prospect that's popping up that is sure to grab plenty of attention from college recruiters.
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Meet Derrick Stewart, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound athlete that is originally from Youngstown (Ohio) Ursuline.
Out of high school Stewart signed with Cincinnati, turning down scholarship offers from Wisconsin, Akron and Toledo. He ended up spending some time with the Bearcats before eventually ending up at Fort Scott.
And now that he's there, he's making a tremendous impact.
"He might be our best guy," Sims said. "I talked to the Michigan State coach that signed Derrick to Cincinnati when he was coming out of high school and he said if he would have stuck things out there he would be their best receiver.
"But he's so talented that he could also be a team's best cornerback, best guy on special teams. He can do so many things."
That was on display in last week's big victory over Kilgore on the road. Stewart blocked a punt in the fourth quarter that helped set up the clinching score.
"He was so fast off the line that he had to come back to get the punt," Sims said. "He literally had to reach back to get the ball because he got to the punter so fast."
Sims said the only drawback he can think when it comes to Stewart is that he's going to be a one-for-one player if he signs on the Division I level. So that means Stewart would only be able to play for one season. But he's well worth the shot, his coach said.
"This kid is special," Sims said. "He's the type of player that can take over a game. He said he's been timed as fast as 4.25 in the 40. I don't know about that, but I can tell you he's definitely a 4.3 or a 4.4 kid. He's big-time."