The Class of 2020 offensive lineman from ASA College in Brooklyn, N.Y., said Tennessee made a good first impression on him Friday and Saturday during an unofficial visit to Knoxville that allowed him to participate in one of the Vols’ camps, and he’s already hoping to return there on an official visit. Tennessee still is the only school that has extended an offer to the 6-foot-4.5, 345-pound Stewart. But he said he already knows that the Vols “will be in my top five” throughout his recruitment after seeing for himself what they have to offer.
“I mean, honestly, I loved it,” said Stewart, a former standout at Warrensville Heights (Ohio) High School. “We spent enough time there to look around the campus, look at the dorms, go out and see what the nightlife was. “I mean, honestly, I can say I loved it. But it’s the first offer. I have to keep my options open. But if it comes down to it — well, when it does come down to it — after the season, Tennessee will be in my top five. That, I’m guaranteeing.”
Stewart was accompanied on the visit by teammate
Antwan Reed, a former Western Michigan signee from Muskegon (Mich.) High School who once was committed to Penn State during his senior year of high school. Tennessee will remain a strong contender for Stewart in the coming months, he said, “because of what they showed me” while he was on campus. “I mean, Tennessee is showing me a lot of love right now — a lot of love — especially for it to be my first school,” he said. “And everybody’s looking at me. A lot of schools are looking. A lot of schools are doing a whole lot of talking. But no other schools have pulled the trigger.
“And schools know I’m here, and schools know I can play. But Tennessee seems to be the only one that has been willing to take the step after they already saw what I did last season and what I did in the spring. “Tennessee has kind of been there in the forefront and front-running for everything. I assume Tennessee really wants me to attend their school and be a part of their program.”
“I worked with Coach Friend the most throughout the drills, the one-on-ones,” Stewart said. “They started me off at guard first, and I know that’s something that’s really on everybody’s mind about me — moving to guard. And I realized at that point in time, in those one-on-ones, if I want to play tackle, I’m going to have to maintain what I already have and lose weight.
“Guard is something I could see myself doing. But I’m just going to have to learn it, because guard and tackle are two different worlds. I swear they are. I got my guard reps. I got my tackle reps. I did OK at guard, but it didn’t feel natural. I got at tackle, and I started really working everybody that was out there. “I felt good at tackle. And I hope they saw that, because more than likely — they say it themselves — you don’t see somebody my size that can move how I can. It’s not something you see every day.”
Stewart said the Vols “enjoyed what I did” during the camp, and he “really didn’t get any negative feedback.” “Obviously, I learned a lot because those guys have been further than I have,” he said. “I took in every little piece of information I could. They just said they can’t wait to see me back for my actual official visit. “The one thing everybody said I have to work on, and that’s going to get worked on, is my weight. That’s the only thing at this point in time.”
He said he has been in frequent contact with Joe Osovet, the Vols’ director of programming for football, who was the head coach at ASA before joining Tennessee’s staff last year. “We talk to him regularly because of his ties that he has at ASA,” Stewart said of Osovet. “So having a conversation with him, it’s easy.”
Ole Miss, Auburn, Kentucky, West Virginia and Maryland are among the other schools showing interest in Stewart, he said. But he doesn't have any additional trips planned at this point, and he said he’s in no hurry to decide on a college. “I’m going to wait until after the season, when I’m getting ready to graduate,” he said.
look he wanted to sound important let the man have his moment
