Jonesboro's Stewart dealt strange month

Arkansas football recruit Jashaud Stewart is shown prior a game against Auburn on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, in Fayetteville.

— When Arkansas signee Jashaud Stewart looks back on March 2020, he will remember it as one of the strangest months of his young life.

In addition to his every day life being affecting by the coronavirus pandemic, his hometown of Jonesboro was hit by tornado last Saturday.

“We saw it on the news at first and we were watching it,” Stewart said. “My dad is real attentive so he want outside and began looking at what was happening. He loves knowing different things about the weather. We knew that a tornado was starting to touch down so we started getting prepared to deal with the worst.

“It didn’t hit toward our way, but we were very sad and we hated it for those that did suffer damage and injuries. We were checking on family members and making sure they were OK. Our family was fine, but there were a lot of people who suffered a lot of damage and we were very sad for them.”

Stewart, a 6-2, 223-pound defensive end, is coming off a senior season in which he had 114 tackles (85 solo stops) with 23 tackles for lost yardage, 17 sacks, 14 quarterback hurries, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.

He chose Arkansas over Memphis, Houston, Kansas, SMU and others, and signed in December.

“I am just looking forward when this thing is all over and getting up to Fayetteville and get things going,” Stewart said.

Stewart created a bit of a stir on Instagram on Tuesday when he said he might enlist in the military if the 2020 college football season was wiped out due to the pandemic.

“That was a joke,” Stewart said, noting it was posted just before April Fool's Day. “I am looking forward to getting up there. I have got my ACT (qualifying) score knocked out and now it is just a matter of finishing out the school year and keeping my grades up.”

As are many other Americans, Stewart is learning how to deal with being at home during the pandemic.

“I am just getting up, spending time with my family, playing different games, watching stuff with my family and doing a lot of school work online and then working out,” Stewart said. “At my house, I have a bench set and some dumbbells and a treadmill in my house. So I am getting to work out at home and staying in shape.

“I can’t wait for things to calm down so I can get back to seeing my friends, get out more and go to the movies and things like that.”