Freshman running back is third in rushing for No. 14 Oregon, which has the weekend off
By Kevin Hampton
Corvallis Gazette-Times
A true freshman’s role on a football team can be a tough one. Most of them spend the fall of their first year in a program working on the scout team to get the starters ready to play. On Saturday, they stand on the sideline. A lucky few might get in on special teams or a play or two in a blowout. Others redshirt and never see the field on Saturday for the season. There are exceptions. Once in a while a recruit comes in ready to play. Jonathan Stewart arrived at the University of Oregon touted as the top high school running back in the nation and he quickly showed why. There was no doubt he had the skills and development to step on the turf right away. The only question remaining was how much playing time he would be able to get. Oregon coach Mike Bellotti had the luxury of a senior starter at running back and several young players at the position. Even so, Bellotti could see Stewart was special. He made sure Stewart got some carries from the start and the blend of speed and power was immediately evident as Stewart often simply blew through would-be tacklers. “We knew he had finishing speed and he was a very hard runner,” Bellotti said. “He made people miss and he also ran over people. He’s shown the ability to do both here. The nice thing is it’s translated to this level of football.” Stewart is third in rushing behind Terrence Whitehead and Kellen Clemens with 118 yards on 29 carries in six games. He has a long gain of 33 yards and leads all UO rushers with four touchdowns. Stewart said he is having fun with his first college football experience despite an ankle sprain that has hindered him since the second game. “It’s been pretty tough because it seems like I tweak it a lot and it just gets re-injured throughout the season,” Stewart said. “I’ve just been trying to continue to get it better.” It took a game or two for Stewart to get used to the speed of major college football. He said the biggest difference was the atmosphere of home games and playing in front of close to 60,000 fans in Autzen Stadium. “It seems like they’re also competitive, just as a crowd, just keeping us into the game and stuff,” he said. Stewart was used to being the focal point of the offense at Timberline High in Lacey, Wash. He got his share of carries and piled up 7,755 yards through his career, erasing the previous state record by more than 1,600 yards. He had 2,301 yards and 32 touchdowns his senior season.
The offense was nothing like the new spread offense he had to learn when he arrived at Oregon. “I enjoy it,” he said. “It spreads the ball out a lot. It gives a lot of people the opportunity to get the ball.” The numbers at Timberline were a big reason Stewart was regarded as the top running back recruit last year. Although he lived in Washington, Stewart followed East Coast college football and wasn’t a big fan of the Pacific-10 Conference. Yet he chose Oregon for its college-town environment over Washington and Washington State. Tennessee was the only school on his final list outside of the area. He said there’s been no extra pressure to produce as a top recruit and he simply follows the instructions of the coaching staff. The production will come in time. “I think he’s going to be a great football player,” Bellotti said.
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