Josaiah Stewart dominates USC

Michigan might have abandoned the passing game but at least they can rely on a decent collection of NFL defenders to be competitive. Nobody was more impressive than Stewart against the Trojans. He was unstoppable — collecting two sacks, three TFL, four QB hits and a forced fumble. However, these numbers barely highlight just how dominant he was on Saturday.

It’s one of the best pass rushing performances I’ve seen in a long time. He consistently screamed off the edge, had the two tackles struggling to get even a hand on him and USC had to shift their protection throughout the second half to try and stop him wrecking the game.

Stewart lacks ideal size and length (6-1, 240lbs, 32 1/4 inch arms) but he’s just so dynamic attacking the edge. He plays with a relentless motor and has surprising power. Watching him I couldn’t help but think he was a fit for the Mike Macdonald Seahawks.

He transferred from Coastal Carolina in 2023. As a true freshman he set the single game program record with four sacks and collected 12.5 for the year (another school record). His sophomore season wasn’t as productive — recording just 3.5 sacks. He had 5.5 in his first season for Michigan.

Stewart rose to prominence last season because he was the player who famously bull-rushed top-10 pick JC Latham into Jalen Milroe on the final, decisive play to win the Rose Bowl, despite a +100lbs weight difference:

If he was 6-5 and 250lbs with 34 inch arms he’d be on a trajectory to be a very high pick. The size will cost him because there are so few players with his physical profile who turn into top NFL rushers. Yet there’s just so much to like. Almost every rep is attacked lack it’s his last. He will challenge tackles with his physical playing style and I suspect he’ll do a better than expected job vs the run as a consequence, just through sheer attitude.

Look at him set the edge on Saturday, this is a grown-man rep:

He consistently sacrificed his body against USC to run full pelt into the tackle to drive him backwards and impact the running game. It’s an unorthodox but effective jolt-back style.

Yet he’s not just uniquely powerful and committed for his frame. There are genuine bursts of suddenness off the edge:

He’s going to need a wide-alignment to be effective. With his lack of length you’re unlikely to see him engage and rip through contact. Stewart needs an angle and it could limit his role to that of a situational edge or rotational 3-4 OLB. Yet a creative schemer could put him in various positions to succeed. I also wouldn’t bet against him playing way beyond his size limitations.

For example, despite his lack of length he did show an ability to straight arm the left tackle, keeping his frame clean to peak into the backfield and remain in the play. Plus his smaller height enabled him to win leverage battles as he got underneath the left tackles’ pad level to drive him backwards on one snap, forcing an incompletion.

The other thing working in his favour was a dangerous inside move. He really only had two forms of attack and he’ll need to be more varied. Yet whenever he darted to the inside shoulder of the tackle he was so quick. You could see how terrified both tackles were, struggling to defend the edge and the inside rush. Stewart absolutely hammered Miller Moss on one inside move and as a consequence the throw was nearly intercepted (it should’ve been).

He had an edge rush from the right hand side that ended the first half. Again he was too quick and the right tackle couldn’t get hands on him. It was a very easy win based on pure quickness off the edge.

His sudden agility movements are reminiscent of top edge rushers. Stewart can glide in his sideways shifts to dodge blockers and remain clean.

USC began the third quarter constantly shifting protection to help whichever side he attacked. They chipped him with the RB, pulled guards to support on his side and they had the TE help with a double team. They knew he was wrecking the game.

The first USC touchdown happened on a snap when he was being spelled. There was a noticeable difference when he wasn’t on the field.

I think the pick-six from Moss thrown to Will Johnson was provoked by the fact Stewart was in USC’s head. He was closest to Moss, too, when he made the ill-fated throw after another dynamic inside move.

He beat the running back and right tackle to force a red zone fumble at the end of the third quarter. He was too fast, again, for both. Two blockers vs one rusher made no difference.

Stewart ran an inside rush in the fourth quarter where the right tackle was just hanging on for dear life — he was too powerful to be stopped and ran through the block. On the same drive, he forced an incompletion on 3rd and 7 with yet another dynamic interior rush — easily beating the left tackle.

With 34 seconds remaining — guess what? Another dominant inside rush to force an incompletion, this time with the game on the line. He ended the contest, just as he did against Alabama last season.

As I said, he was unstoppable in this game. He received a 95.8 PFF grade for the performance and is currently PFF’s top graded edge rusher for the season (92.9). Having listened to his interviews — he’s mature, well spoken and appears to have have high character marks. This isn’t surprising given the way he plays.

Stewart might not be ideally sized but there’s no doubt in my mind that you can win a lot of games with players like this on your roster. He’s a warrior, a perfect fit for Seattle and would be a tremendous addition to the rotation. Even with other needs on the roster, I’m inclined to say ‘find a way to get this player’.

Iowa running Kaleb Johnson adds to deep RB class

Ashton Jeanty at Boise State is quite rightly getting most of the draft buzz at running back but it’s an increasingly strong looking group. Arkansas’ Ja’Quinden Jackson has caught my eye, Nicholas Singleton and Trevor Etienne are destined to be effective pro-runners and I’m a fan of DJ Giddens. The depth stretches into players like Raheim Sanders, Kyle Monangai and several others.

However, Iowa’s Johnson flashed so much on Saturday against Minnesota, I think he has the makings of a NFL star. He has everything.

He’s ideally sized at 6-0 and 225lbs with sprinters speed. If he finds a lane he’ll accelerate and reach top speed quickly and he pulls away from defenders. He can get skinny to run through gaps in the line.

This play ended in a 40-yard run:

You want to see running backs run through contact in order to gain extra yardage and turn good runs into great runs. Johnson leads all running backs in college football with 444 yards after contact. For comparison, Omarian Hampton who is second on the list has 394 yards, with Jeanty a distant third with 354.

The Boise State runner leads the NCAA with 6.32 yards after contact per attempt, with Johnson second on 5.41.

What about missed tackles? Johnson is ranked first with 30 in just four games. Jeanty has 26.

Explosive runs? Again Johnson leads college football with 18 runs of 10+ yards (Ja’Quindon Jackson, who I highlighted last week, also has 18).

He was as unstoppable against Minnesota as Josaiah Stewart was against USC. Iowa only managed 62 passing yards in the game and still won 31-14 despite a totally one-dimensional attack. It was down to Johnson’s 206 yards on 21 carries, including three touchdowns. He already has 685 rushing yards and nine touchdowns for the season. His yardage total unsurprisingly leads college football with, again, Jeanty in second place on 586 yards.

The one area where both runners aren’t particularly impressive is in the passing game. That might say more about Iowa than Johnson’s ability to be a receiver — but he only has seven catches on seven targets for 26 yards. Jeanty has five catches on eight targets for a meagre 12 yards.

While most people are starting to consider Jeanty a realistic first round possibility — I think Johnson’s right up there too. They are the two most talented pure runners eligible for next year. I think they both deserve fringe first round grades and at a time where the running game is becoming more important due to the frequency with which we see two-high safety defensive schemes — they could both easily go in the first frame next April.

Other scouting notes

— Week four was not good for injuries. LSU’s Harold Perkins tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. Michigan’s Will Johnson left the game against USC with an injury. Raheim Sanders at South Carolina barely featured and top tight end Colston Loveland didn’t play. Earlier in the week we saw talented cornerback Shavon Revel ruled out for the season with an ACL injury too.

— It was another underwhelming day for LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell against UCLA. I remain unconvinced by people projecting him as a high first round tackle and personally see him as a day two guard. It’s since been revealed he has sub-33 inch arms, increasing the likelihood that he’d need to kick inside.

— LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier again played well against UCLA. He showed sensational accuracy on a downfield throw at the start of the second quarter. He looked off the safety and then threw a perfect dime to the right sideline, hitting the receiver in stride with such precision it looked like he handed the ball to the wideout:

Every week I’m impressed with the level of anticipation he shows when throwing. Look at the screen grab below. He’s off-balance with the center virtually standing on his toes in the pocket. He throws to the crossing route (see the circled receiver) with perfect accuracy right down the hash marks, letting him run onto the football for the completion. It’s not an easy throw due to the lurking defender positioned just in front of the midfield logo:

Once again Nussmeier was great on third downs — LSU converted 10-15 on the day. You could visibly track how he manipulated defenders with his eyes by watching his helmet stripe. He finished 32/44 passing for 352 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers.

I’m incredibly impressed with the technical level he’s showing. Very few quarterbacks play this way in college. He’s producing results on a much less talented LSU roster this year, too. How teams judge his physical upside will determine how high he goes but I wouldn’t rule out a high grade by some. He’s not a weak-armed player — he just doesn’t have a cannon with amazing scrambling ability. Make no mistake though — he is very talented and deserves more attention.

— Some quick thoughts on two other quarterbacks from week four. I watched Penn State and Drew Allar versus Kent State. He reminds me of Mike Glennon. They have the same frame, throwing style and they were both a bit gangly and ungainly on the move. Max Brosmer at Minnesota had a mixed day against Iowa but he did have some nice throws over the middle. He lacks consistency at the moment. He didn’t get much help in the game and his second pick was a tipped pass. His first was a poor late throw although on replay a hideously bright setting sun appeared to be shining right in his eyes. Brosmer isn’t going to be a high pick but he is a player I’d be fearful of if he landed with the Rams or Niners.

— This is shaping up to be a good tight end class. Penn State’s Tyler Warren is one of my favourite players to watch so far. He’s incredibly dynamic as a pass catcher and is clearly Drew Allar’s favoured target. On Saturday he also threw for a touchdown and took a direct snap before running for 17-yards. I think he’s a fringe first rounder and a likely top-45 pick. LSU’s Mason Taylor continues to shine. Both players are plus blockers and they will carry a lot of NFL appeal. Taylor is the son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor (ex-Dolphins pass rusher) and his uncle is Zach Thomas (former Dolphins/Cowboys/Chiefs linebacker). It’s also good to see Iowa’s Luke Lachey back on the field. He’s a tremendous blocker in the run game and can be a good pass-catcher too. I really like all three players.

— Two Iowa offensive linemen have caught my eye. Center Logan Jones is an elite athlete with the kind of traits and size that have worked in Scott Huff’s scheme previously. He had a tremendous run blocking game vs Minnesota. Gennings Dunker is also very athletic, physical and a classic Iowa lineman who could be a very useful guard at the next level.

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