Cougars suffer first loss of ‘05: Stewart to UO
PULLMAN – Three years ago Timberline High School running back Jonathan Stewart said in an interview that he’d like to attend the University of Oregon. And on Friday night, Washington’s all-time leading rusher made good on that wish, orally committing to be a Duck this fall.
The decision, announced in an interview on a Seattle television station, came as an especially painful blow for Washington State, Stewart’s second choice and the first school to begin recruiting him as a freshman more than three years ago.
“I’ll be attending the University of Oregon,” Stewart said on KING-TV, having previously eliminated all but the Cougars and Ducks from his list of choices. “The campus is really nice, the players that I got to hang out with when I was down there, everything just seemed right. Overall, the facilities were just awesome.
“It was incredible. They had a lot to offer.”
WSU assistant coaches visited Stewart on Thursday, but apparently they were unable to sway the star running back from Lacey.
Still, when asked about the Cougars and WSU after making his announcement, Stewart had nothing but kind things to say.
“It was real tough. All the coaches, Levy (Mike Levenseller), (Bill) Doba, they’re all great guys,” Stewart said. “They’re very down to earth and the college experience they showed me there was great. I have a lot of friends that go to Washington State, but Oregon just had that overall feeling.”
In Stewart , WSU had perhaps as good a chance as it has ever had to land a recruit so highly regarded. A number of recruiting analysts had him as the top high school senior running back in the nation, and many also had him pegged as one of the top five recruits overall.
Stewart also seemed intent on staying close to home for college to make it easier for his mother to visit, and coupled with Washington’s recent on- and off-field difficulties, the timing seemed to line up well for WSU.
Cougars recruiting efforts for Stewart were more carefully coordinated than for any other recruit available this year, leaving them with little to do but shrug their shoulders.
In Stewart, Oregon will be getting a top-flight prospect in the 5-foot-11, 220-pound back and also someone who has been praised by many for his ability to deal with the pressure of being in the spotlight.
“He not only is unusually talented on the field, obviously with his records,” Timberline athletic director Paul Dean said, “but he’s always handled all this attention with exceptional humility. He’s just one of the guys here with the team and in the school, and that’s very unusual at that age when you’re getting that much adulation.”
Stewart, assuming he doesn’t redshirt the upcoming season, will have to be in Pullman at least once in the near future, though. The Ducks visit Pullman on Nov. 12.