New school in the mix for J-Stew

This is a very good year nationally for running backs and no one has impressed more over the past two years than Lacey (Wash.) Timberline’s Jonathan Stewart. One thing we could never figure out was why the talented ball carrier wasn’t getting any love from the two Los Angeles schools- USC and UCLA, when the rest of the Pac 10 was all over him. That has since changed and a new school has jumped in the mix for Stewart.

At 5-10, 225 pounds, Stewart is a power runner with very good speed. He was the MVP at the Nike Camp in Oregon for the second year in a row after running a 4.52 in the 40, jumping 36 inches in the vertical and did 29 reps on the bench. On film, Stewart’s compact frame and running style reminds us a lot of current UCLA running back Maurice Drew in how quick he hits the hole, how powerful he runs and in his ability to run inside or outside.

Stewart has offers from most of the Pac 10 and is also hearing from Tennessee, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan.

“USC was at my game last week, that’s the first interest they have showed in me,” Stewart said. “Coach (Todd) McNair, the running back coach was there and then he called me yesterday to let me know they were going to start recruiting me very actively. I had a pretty good, not my best game but I did all right. We beat our area rivals 26-24 and I rushed for 210 yards and a touchdown.

“Right now, I’m focusing on about seven schools right now. They would be Oregon, Washington State, Ohio State, Cal, Tennessee, Notre Dame and USC. I haven’t set up any of my visits yet but my mom and I were just talking about taking an unofficial visit to Washington State for a game in the next few weeks. I’ll probably set my official visits up sometime late in the season. Right now, my plan is to take all five of my trips but everything is in Gods hands. If I take my first visit and feel strongly that God wants me there, I’ll commit on the spot and won’t think twice about it. I’m not going to over analyze anything, just going to follow God and I know he’ll direct me to the right place.”