The Wolverine

May 2018

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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MAY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 61   COMMITMENT PROFILE M ichigan fans aren't necessarily going to throw a party as a re- sult of New Canaan (Conn.) High two-star Jack Stewart's commitment to U-M, but maybe they should. The 6-5, 285-pounder is definitely ascending, evidenced by a recent run of offers from programs like Ari- zona, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Baylor, Maryland, TCU and, of course, Michigan. The junior tackle shows well on film, and Rivals Mid- Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman said that Stewart shines in person, too. "He's a good pass blocker, and he's an agile guy, there's no doubt about that," Friedman said. "That team with [2020 four-star quarter- back and Notre Dame commit] Drew Pyne back there throws the ball a lot, and Stewart has a lot of experience in those situations. He gets into his pass set quickly and really understands where the rush is coming from." Friedman's comments seem to con- tradict Stewart's two-star rating from Rivals. "The biggest questions for us are how big and strong is he?" explained the analyst. "How aggressive is he in the run game? And how effective is he as a run blocker? "On film it looks like he has a ten- dency to play pretty high, so we'd like to see him in a camp setting where he would be able to show that he can play with some leverage, es- pecially when guys try to go inside of him or try to get into his body." The Michigan coaches don't seem to be worried about Stewart's rank- ing and Friedman isn't either. He already intends to give him a boost when Rivals does its next round of rankings in late May or early June. "He's underrated right now," Friedman said. "He's in line to get a bump in a month or so when we update. We just want to see more of him before we really commit to that. "We have some more film evalua- tion, and I'd like to see a more com- plete evaluation before we do any- thing crazy with his ranking." One of the reasons Friedman feels comfortable with giving Stewart a bump already is because of his build. Stewart looks lean at his listed 285 pounds and appears to have a ton of room to bulk up and become a physi- cal presence. "I'd be a little surprised if he was ac- tually 285 pounds. He does look to be a legit 6-5, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he's that heavy," Fried- man said. "He certainly has room to fill out that frame and should easily get to the desired playing weight." Michigan appears to have landed someone who could develop into an effective tackle on the offensive line. Friedman doesn't see much inte- rior versatility in Stewart's game and that's okay. With lineman Trente Jones out of Loganville (Ga.) Grayson and Akron (Ohio) Hoban four-star guard Nolan Rumler already in the fold, a pure tackle is a good fit in U-M's class. "I think Stewart could absolutely play left tackle based off of the quick- ness that we've seen from him and his feet," Friedman said. "Those are the guys coaches want at left tackle right now. Gone are the days where you just put a huge guy out there that no one can get around. "You really do want those quicker guys who can handle speed rushers and I think that's what Stewart is." Even though he's still developing physically and overall as a football player, Stewart has seen his stock rise. Many teams saw enough in him to offer, but Michigan won out. As a junior, Stewart helped lead his team to the Class L state semifi- nals and was named to the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Con- ference second team. — Brandon Brown Wolverines Nab Connecticut Lineman With A High Upside FILM EVALUATION Strengths: At 6-5 and 285 pounds, Jack Stewart's strengths are his quick- ness, agility and feet for an offensive lineman. He's still learning the nuances of the position, but athletically he can do anything you ask him to. He also has a solid mean streak that's apparent on film, and appears to love planting guys into the ground and blocking defenders through the sidelines. Areas Of Improvement: Despite having good size already, Stewart needs to transform his body a bit and add size and strength. That's pretty much the case with any of- fensive lineman coming out of high school, but Stewart looks much leaner than U-M's other offensive line commits. He'll need to adjust to much better competition, size and strength wise, at the next level. Michigan Player Comparison: Size wise and athletically, Stew- art compares favorably to former Wolverine Jeff Backus. Can Stewart make an impact at U-M like Backus did and reach the NFL? Those are lofty aspirations but on the hoof, Stewart looks to have tremendous potential and should easily get to 300-310 pounds like Backus did. — Analysis from TheWolverine.com Jack Stewart, a 6-5, 285-pounder. selected U-M over Arizona, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Maryland and TCU. PHOTO COURTESY JACK STEWART VIA TWITTER Rivals Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman "I think Stewart could absolutely play left tackle based off of the quickness that we've seen from him and his feet. … You really do want those quicker guys who can handle speed rushers, and I think that's what Stewart is."

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