Stewart’s move paying off for SU

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

Southern vs. Alabama State
WHEN: 2:30 p.m. today.
WHERE: Ladd-Pebbles Stadium (40,646), Mobile, Ala.
TV: ESPNU.
RADIO: KQXL-FM, 106.5.
RECORDS: Southern 4-0, 2-0 SWAC; Alabama State 4-0, 3-0.
LAST MEETING: Southern 38, Albama State 20, 2006.
SERIES: SU leads, 20-7.

Demarcus Stewart is back, front and center, for the Southern University offense.

Moving Stewart from right guard came not by choice, but by necessity, with sophomore Ramon Chinyoung ineligible. However, unlike other switches on SU’s offensive line, this one was the easiest transition.

Stewart is the only senior along the line. He started at center as the Jaguars began last season. And he backed Chinyoung last season, so he was always tasked with mastering the offense like a center has to do even if he didn’t make the snaps during games.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Stewart, who played both guard spots last season and had also done some long snapping at the end of the 2005 season. “Really, I’d rather guard, but I’ll play the center. Anything to help the team out.

“It’s basically the same thing. For me, I like to know every position on the line. I know every position. It was nothing but a quick adjustment with snaps and the timing of just firing off.”

Photo: #75 Demarcus Stewart

The move and the do-what-it-takes attitude, of course, matter plenty for the Jaguars, who are undefeated and have the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s best rushing game (184.0 yards per game) even with a thin, mix-and-match offensive line.

Southern (4-0, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) faces Alabama State (4-0, 3-0) at 2:30 p.m. today in the Gulf Coast Classic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

“Our offensive staff did a good job,” Richardson said. “We took a starting guard and put him at center. We took a couple of walk-ons and put them at guard. We took a tight end and put him at tackle. Any time you start changing individuals around on offense, it’s going to take time to develop.”

Going to a zone-blocking scheme, orchestrated by first-year offensive line coach Damon Nivens, helped tremendously. First-year running backs coach Elvis Joseph has made a tremendous impact with a balanced trio of rushers. And offensive coordinator Mark Orlando’s staying with quarterback Bryant Lee and game-planning his legs into the attack have also been vital.

Add in Stewart taking on the added load as also pivotal.

“He’s giving us everything he’s got,” Orlando said. “He’s a war daddy. He’s playing hard.”

Stewart playing this well this season wasn’t a sure thing. Of all the veterans who were returning, though, his conditioning was a big issue during summer camp.

Stewart had ballooned to 328 pounds and the voluntary summer workouts were miserable on him.

“We had a lot of long talks after spring ball,” Orlando said. “He was getting out of shape and it looked like he had lost the desire. I said, ‘Look, Stew, I need you to be a leader. You’re not the football player you were a year ago.’ I think that hit home. He worked pretty hard over the summer.”

Maybe in a foreshadowing to his play this season, Stewart toughed out all that running, even with strength and conditioning coaches all over him and teammates pushing him.

“This summer had to be the hardest summer out of all of them, and I’ve been here for three summers,” said Stewart, a former Plaquemine High School standout who originally signed with Nicholls State. “This had to be the hardest yet.

“Everybody came together as a unit. We had to work hard, hard, hard. Especially the offensive line and defensive line, we had to work the hardest out of everybody, because we had to do the same work as the receivers and cornerbacks were doing and we’re about 150 pounds more than them.”

Stewart is down to 292 pounds currently. Unlike other linemen in preseason camp, Stewart never struggled with the heat.

“It paid off,” Stewart said.

Now, with the conditioning, classroom and chemistry work all done, Stewart can get back to doing what he likes best about the game.

“I’ve been playing ball since I was 8, and I’ve always enjoyed hitting people,” Stewart said. “I like the physical contact of the sport, being able to fire off and be aggressive and misuse somebody.”

Like many on this offensive line, Stewart will have to stay healthy all season. Sophomore Daniel Stephens, a nonqaulifier who did not play last year, is his backup.

“Yeah, it’s rag-tag, but we pull together, we stick together,” Stewart said. “The people we have now are doing the job. We communicate, and that makes the job much more easier for us. The zone makes it easy, just fire off, stick a man and know where you have to go.

“A lot of people doubted us. A lot of people still do, but we stick together amongst ourselves,” Stewart said. “We work hard, and we’re going to pull it off.”

At this point last season, Southern was 2-2 en route to a 5-6 finish. Two years ago, the Jaguars were 1-1, with two canceled games because of hurricanes and finished 4-5. So, is there a temptation to get carried away with a 4-0 start?

“That’s a good thing, but we still have a goal, we still have to finish,” said Stewart, a secondary education major.

In that regard, he can tell his teammates all about how to finish strong. Stewart is doing just that for his senior season, no matter where he had to play, no matter how hard he had to work.