FAYETTEVILLE — Jashaud Stewart is Arkansas coach Sam Pittman’s kind of player.
A former 3-star prospect from Jonesboro, Stewart has positioned himself for significant snaps this season by doing one key thing: Play hard. Some defensive linemen excel on account of their sheer size or speed, or a combination of both.
Stewart, who stands 6-2 and 243 pounds, is not the biggest or strongest player on the Razorbacks’ defensive front. Arkansas State transfer Terry Hampton throws up the most weight in the group, and LSU transfer Landon Jackson checks in at an imposing 6-7.
No player in first-year defensive line coach Deke Adams’ room, though, has the motor of Stewart. It is his calling card and ticket for more opportunity in his third year on campus.
“I’m going to be honest, nobody can really match Jashaud Stewart’s effort,” offensive lineman Ty’Kieast Crawford said Wednesday. “Like, it’s hard. I like the way he plays. He’s strong. You can tell he is.
“Once he gets into your chest you might want to make sure you get your hands on him because if you don’t, he’s already going to be by you.”
Stewart is one of several intriguing pieces at Arkansas’ disposal in 2022 who can lend a hand in generating more pass rush and havoc plays in the backfield than in recent seasons.
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He finished his sophomore season with 7 tackles, including 4 solo stops, in 13 games. He received a starting nod in the Razorbacks’ victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Little Rock last October.
Stewart’s most impressive moment at Arkansas came in the home loss to Auburn. He blew through the Tigers’ offensive line on third-and-1 at the Auburn 16, picked up and dropped the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and jarred the ball loose.
Replay review overturned the fumble and wiped away a potentially game-changing moment. Officially, the turnover did not happen, but Stewart made an impression.
“When I first got here in the spring, he was very raw,” Adams said. “But one thing you couldn’t deny about him was he played very hard. He ran to the football, did a lot of great things in that aspect. But then as he started to learn the system, learn what we were doing and got better fundamentally, then he started to become this dude that I didn’t think he was going to be right away.
“He plays with a great pad level. He’s running to the ball, he understands the system. He’s doing a lot of great things for us.”
Arkansas right tackle Dalton Wagner, the presumed starter at the position against Cincinnati on Sept. 3, named Stewart as one of the most challenging defensive linemen to keep out of the backfield. In Wagner’s eyes, Stewart never tires out.
“He’s so fast, he’s so strong, he’s talented," Wagner said. "It’s awesome to see. It’s so much fun to go against because it forces me to do things that are out of the norm for an offensive lineman.
“You’ve got a little play clock in your head of seven seconds and he’s still going. You better keep going, too.”
Through 17 preseason practices, Stewart has worked at first- and second-team end in segments open to reporters. He has often operated on the left edge alongside tackles Isaiah Nichols and Eric Gregory, and right end Zach Williams.
On Aug. 16 when asked about the team’s top pass rushers, Adams mentioned Stewart’s name first. He is also likely to play an essential role on special teams.
“He comes from punt to punt return, he doesn’t lose a step,” Gregory said. “He has all types of energy. He’s working every play. I wish I could add that to my game, really.
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“Seeing that every play, it makes you want to be like that and want to be better.”
Williams added that Stewart has “the biggest heart out of all” of Arkansas' defensive linemen.
“He’ll just put everything on the line play by play,” Williams said. “Some people, we get a little bit off track, but Jashaud is laser focused. That’s what helps him and is why he’s doing so good.”
For Stewart, whose 138 defensive snaps last season were split fairly evenly in run defense and pass rush, according to Pro Football Focus, the effort exuded on each snap is what makes him unique.
It stems from his love for those around him.
“Ever since junior high, high school, just building those relationships,” Stewart said. “I really do it for (teammates), me and my family. … After last season, my sophomore season, I was like 235 (pounds) and I bulked up to like 250.
“I gained weight, then Coach Adams coming in teaching different techniques, it just made me a better player."