Miami football losing ground with 5-star local DE Shemar Stewart

Once the projected leader for five-star Monsignor Pace defensive end Shemar Stewart, the Miami football program has fallen behind Georgia and Texas A&M. Steve Wiltfong The Director of Football Recruiting for 247 Sports filed a recent crystal ball for Stewart towards Texas A&M. Wiltfong had projected Stewart to Miami.

Miami still holds the edge on Stewart at 57.1 percent to 42.9 for Texas A&M. The Hurricanes’ most recent crystal ball for Stewart was logged in July. Miami starting the season 2-3 has grounded the Hurricanes 2022 recruiting class. The Hurricanes recently lost four-star cornerback Trequon Fegans who recently flipped to Alabama.

Stewart is projected at 50 percent to Texas A&M by Rivals.Com. Prior to the Aggies victory over Alabama earlier this month, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney and Mark Passwaters from AggiesYell.Com, the Texas A&M Rivals site discussed where Stewart sits in his recruitment.

A commitment from Stewart would give the Miami football program a foundational player in the Class of 2022 to add to 2021 five-star freshmen defensive tackle Leonard Taylor and safety James Williams. Stewart and Taylor on the same defensive line would be nearly unblockable. Ohio State is among the four leaders for Stewart.

The Buckeyes received a commitment from four-star Chaminade-Madonna DE Kenyatta Jackson on Tuesday. Pairing Jackson and Stewart would give Ohio State an elite pass-rushing tandem for the future. Jackson is the sixth-highest ranked 2022 Ohio State commit and is currently their only edge rusher.

Stewart has ideal size at 6’5, 260 pounds to pair with excellent athleticism. A two-sport athlete, Stewart also has averaged 6.4 points per game and 8.7 rebounds for the Monsignor-Pace basketball team. According to 247, Stewart took an official visit to LSU in June and will be at Texas A&M this weekend.

Stewart has taken multiple visits with Miami, but not an official visit yet. The 2022 Miami recruiting class currently ranks a woeful 60th nationally and 11th in the ACC. Head coach Manny Diaz tried spinning the low-ranked class this week. Diaz said they have been impacted by COVID and the extra year of eligibility granted.

Miami has a young team. Several Hurricanes freshmen in eligibility are on the two-deep Hurricanes depth chart. Stewart would unquestionably have the chance to play immediately. Miami will lose edge rushers DeAndre Johnson and Zach McCloud after the 2021 season. The Hurricanes need to their season and recruiting class around.