Brad Stewart Elevates His Stature

By Matt Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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Benedictine’s Brad Stewart has long been a hot college prospect. Following an exceptional senior campaign, however, his recruitment is primed to soar to new heights.

Entering the 2014 regular season, Benedictine Military School senior Brad Stewart was a relative unknown to football fans outside of Georgia’s Coastal Empire.

Playing for a Cadets program that had long been regarded for its explosive rushing attacks, the playmaking receiver found himself slightly limited in terms of what he could contribute from a statistical standpoint.

That would change significantly during his senior campaign, however, as the Cadets would turn to a high-powered passing attack to offset the loss of their entire starting offensive line from the season prior.

Such a schematic shift would prove to be immensely valuable to Stewart, who was already receiving plenty of attention from collegiate coaching staffs. Suddenly finding himself as the premier athlete on the Benedictine offense, Stewart would put together an outstanding final season on the high school gridiron.

As a receiver, the position at which most analysts think he will land at the next level, Stewart hauled in 68 receptions for 1,394 yards and 18 touchdowns, shattering numerous records along the way. And if that wasn’t enough, he added an additional eight interceptions from his defensive back position for good measure, unquestionably making him one of the top two-way players in the Peach State.

“This year, we were young. We had a whole new offensive line, so we had to change things up,” Stewart commented on the schematic changes on offense. “We had so many targets we could go to. We had options, because we could either pass the ball or run the ball. We could do whatever was working.”

The decision by head coach Danny Britt to place more emphasis on the passing attack not only led to increased production from his standout senior receiver, it resulted in better results for the program as a whole.

Led by Stewart and senior quarterback Stevie Powers, who is committed to play baseball at Southern Miss, the Cadets worked their way through an unenviable bracket in Georgia’s AA classification to bring home a state championship to Savannah.

Playing their way through a quadrant of the bracket which included four teams ranked in side of the top ten of the state polls, the Cadets would roll their way to the finals in the Georgia Dome, winning every contest by at least three touchdowns. A 49-7 trouncing of Brooks County on the road would set up a showdown with No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian, the team which beat the Cadets by a field goal in the first game of the season, in the title contest.

Given a second crack at the Spartans, Benedictine would not be denied in its quest for revenge. Fueled by 150 yards and one touchdown receiving, and two interceptions defensive from Stewart, the Cadets would cruise their way to a 46-21 win.

“It was just an amazing feeling,” Stewart said of winning the title. “Coming close last year losing in the final four and having to come back the next year and work our tails off, it was such an honor to bring a title to BC. It being my senior too, going out as a winner, it just can’t be better than that.”

While Stewart is still focusing predominantly on taking some time to enjoy his team’s tremendous accomplishment with his teammates, he still realizes that he will ultimately have a decision to make on where he would like to play his college ball.

Stewart has already collected offers from Army, Cincinnati and Yale, amongst others, with a couple of months left before National Signing Day.

Now coming off a season where he, for the first time in his high school career, had an opportunity to play in a more pass-happy scheme, the general consensus is that more schools are sure to come calling.

Stewart certainly isn’t considering that a bad thing, either. He says that he would love to see what other schools might have interest in offering before he sits down to make his decision.

“I’m still waiting around to see if any bigger schools decide to come talk to me or do anything,” the all-state player remarked. “But it’s not really up to me. It all depends on what the coaches what to do.”

Many FBS college programs already had the fortune of jumping on one of the country’s most underrated recruits when they offered Stewart a scholarship prior to the start of his senior season.

Expect the number of schools that fit that description to increase rapidly, though. Stewart has more than adequately displayed that he possesses the talent to be a game-changing player at college football’s highest level.

By the end of the 2014-2015 school year, some fortunate college program will be signing a young man who epitomizes what a student-athlete should be. Stewart is a proven winner with elite athletic abilities who, most importantly, is a well-respected young man in both the classroom and the community.