Josaiah Stewart is heating up as one of Michigan's top pass rushers
Junior EDGE Josaiah Stewart had collected 16 sacks in two seasons at Coastal Carolina, averaging 0.67 per game, before transferring to Michigan Wolverines football. With U-M, though, it took Stewart until the fifth game of the season to record his first sack.
Stewart got home twice in the Wolverines’ 45-7 win over Nebraska Sept. 30, then brought down the quarterback using a power move at Minnesota the following weekend. He now leads Michigan with 3 of its 14 sacks on the year.
“It felt great,” Stewart said of getting his first one. “I definitely owed this team one for a while. But it feels great just getting in my rhythm, getting in my zone, getting used to the scheme. It feels great.”
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Stewart ranks second on the defense with 9 pressures, tied with senior EDGE Jaylen Harrell and behind only sophomore position mate Derrick Moore (11). His 18-percent pressure rate on true pass sets leads the team and ranks second in the Big Ten (minimum 38 pass-rush snaps).
He’s added 14 total tackles, including a team-best 4.5 behind the line of scrimmage and a quarterback hurry.
Stewart admitted that it took some time for him to get fully up to speed at Michigan.
“Obviously, being somewhere else, it was a whole different game plan, a whole different type of defense, but it’s been great,” he explained.
Stewart wasn’t just coming from the Group of Five level. He’s also considered undersized for his position, at 6-foot-1, 245 pounds. However, he didn’t have any doubts that his game would carry over to the Big Ten level on a team contending for the national championship.
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“Oh no, never,” the Michigan EDGE said. “Just having that mindset, obviously, being successful in the past, you just want to translate that wherever you go. Never being scared of who’s in front of you. I always felt I could play at the high level, and that’s why I’m here, and I’m bringing that same attitude.”
The Michigan defensive tackles have shined this season, as well, particularly senior Kris Jenkins — a “block destruction dominator,” per head coach Jim Harbaugh — and sophomores Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. The interior line play has aided the edge rushers.
“It makes it a lot easier,” Stewart said. “That quarterback not knowing where to step up, it makes it a lot easier for us off the edge to come in. And also our DBs — our DBs do a great job giving us time back there. But especially in the run game, too, those guys are animals and clog up everything in the middle.”
Defensive line coach Mike Elston and the Michigan staff have also helped tremendously. Stewart said that most everything he does on the field can be traced back to what he’s being taught on a daily basis.
“Pretty much any play I made this year — whether it’s an angle, whether it’s a pass-rush move, whether it’s a hand placement,” Stewart explained. “All those incorporate what these coaches are doing; they’re doing a great job.”
