Michigan football: Edge Josaiah Stewart is off and running
Michigan added some outstanding players from the transfer portal at positions of need and all will get the opportunity to impact this fall. One, Coastal Carolina transfer, Josaiah Stewart, could be the pass rusher the Wolverines have been looking for to bring the heat on opposing quarterbacks.
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Observers have said he’s extremely quick off the ball and already opening eyes. He played defensive end and even some inside linebacker at Coastal Carolina, but he’s going to be a pass rusher first at Michigan, it appears.
“I would just say edge, outside linebacker,” he said. “Edge of the defense, rushing the passer, setting edges … that would be my forte,” Stewart told Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches Podcast. “I feel like my speed and my natural leverage I have at my size … some edges, it may be harder to bend at different sizes. It may be harder to get under certain tackles. But just with my natural leverage I find it easier to bend around edges and get under tackles …
“I remember reading an article my freshman year, and they were describing me as like a Tasmanian devil coming off the edge. Probably like a taz, somebody crazy off the edge, wreaking havoc off the edge. Causing mayhem.”
His go to is the rip move, he added … set the blocker up with some power, finesse the edge.
“You’ve got to go speed to power, keep the tackles on their toes,” Stewart continued. “I really define myself as a speed rusher, but don’t shy away from my power, because it’s there.
Some people might be, ‘oh he’s small. He hasn’t got power.’ I got it … but definitely some speed moves.”
He’s been able to show some of them at Michigan, where he’s been well received. His coaches and teammates have accepted him as one of them, and he’s making a good early impression.
“It’s been great. One of the reasons I wanted to come here was just developing in general, just learning new things,” Stewart said. “I feel like Michigan is doing a good job teaching me that and teaching me the new techniques and terms, the playbook. Jut the overall NFL type defense. That’s what I like … the competition and competitiveness I came here looking for.
“The intensity [is different], especially for my position. It’s a lot more focused on us. We have a lot more responsibility. Sustaining the defense at the SAM position, setting it to the left or the right. Making the calls … calling out certain formations. Just being more vocal.”
His goal is to show the coaches he can help contribute to the team and to win a national title … in time. For now, he’s getting the plays down and doing what got him here.
“Everything else will follow,” he said.
But he loves the challenge, and he’s ready to show it on the national stage — that he’s a force to be reckoned with.
It appears he’s on his way.
“It’s very fun,” he said. “I feel like the more competitive you are, the more you want it. If you want it, the person in front of you trying to block you … if you want it more than him, he is not going to beat you.
“If you just have that mindset, carry it around with you all the time, great things will follow. Just staying locked in and knowing you’re better than the other person in front of you, you’ll be all right.”
