Shemar Stewart’s coaches at Texas A&M, the guys who saw him every day in the trenches, saw him do things you don’t see every day. And they insist the Bengals are going to see it from day one.
“He’s a freak, man,” says defensive line coach Tony Jerod-Eddie, who played in the league for six years. “Six-five, 285 pounds, and he had our best get-off on the team, and he was doing it in a two-point stance. It shows you his flexibility and explosion.
After the Bengals took Stewart with the 17th pick in Thursday night’s first round of the NFL Draft, Elijah Robinson was thinking of the amazing things he saw him do in his office. Robinson, now helping Fran Brown revive Syracuse, was at various times in College Station Stewart’s position coach, defensive coordinator and head coach.
“Every Sunday, this kid would come in and look at his clips from the game and ask how he could get better. He was his biggest critic,” Robinson says. “That’s the thing about him. His own biggest critic. Unselfish. Smart. All about family.”
Robinson knows because he helped recruit him out of Miami, a Titanic feat in itself.
“Always smiling. Always happy,” Robinson says. “Respectful kid.”
Christian Sarkisian, the Bengals scout in charge of Texas A&M, saw it for all three years Stewart was there because the Aggies always seem to be loaded up front. Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen, who went the pick ahead of Stewart at No. 16, began his career there. The Bengals drafted Aggies defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson in last year’s third round.
Sarkisian looks at him as a massive chess piece for new defensive coordinator Al Golden, just off winning the national assistant coach of the year at Notre Dame, as well as a worthy running mate for Trey Hendrickson.
“You’re pairing the NFL sack leader with the most disruptive player from the best defensive line in the SEC, a coordinator who won the Broyles, and a position coach (Jerry Montgomery) who played a major role in developing Rashan Gary. Great fit for a high ceiling, smart and responsible player with rare power and explosiveness.”
