Exclusive: A look into Jonathan Stewart's world

J-Stew relives La Tech, anticipates LSU

Billy Liucci: Jonathan, take me through the final two minutes of that game and what was going on. You gave up that quick touchdown and had to come right back out there for another drive after the onside kick, and then come up and somehow figure out a way to get the game-winning stop on the two-point conversation. Just tell me what was said prior to that conversion amongst you and your teammates.

Jonathan Stewart: “Once they scored and it was coming down to the two-point conversion, whether or not it was going to go to overtime, we all just knew we had to make a play, we had to make a stop. We knew, defensively, we put ourselves back in the situation. After Johnny scored to give us the 15-point lead with two minutes left, there was no way that the game should have come down to a two-point conversion, and we knew we didn’t finish defensively.

“We knew at that point that we just had to make a play and that’s what the guys were saying, ‘We have to make a play, we have to make a stop.’”

BL: You have played a lot of football here at Texas A&M. On a scale of difficult offenses to stop, when it comes to that offense and how difficult of a match up it was for you guys, where did that one rank?

Stewart: “It was a good offense. I don’t know if I would say it was such a difficult one, I mean, it wasn’t a fairly complex offense just because there were a lot of bubble screens and quick runs, and not a lot of down the field, complex route combinations or anything like that, but it was a very good offense. I wouldn’t rank it necessarily as high among difficulty. Defensively, we didn’t do what we needed to do to have success in the final 35 minutes of the game.”

BL: Was that just a case of momentum shifting? There was a pass interference call that kept the fifth one alive. (Before that) a couple turnovers on downs, a couple punts. What caused that shift, or did it just start with the defense’s inability to stop that bubble screen?

Stewart: “A little bit of the bubble and then a little bit of momentum shift. We had a chance to really step up on that throw and probably take the life out of the game and probably get it to a 35-point lead going into half time, and we never did that. We didn’t do that.

“They were at home, they had all of their fans and they were loud, and they got a lot of momentum and they kept reeling it in. Every time we had a chance in the second half to get a stop or give our offense the ball, we didn’t take advantage of it, so they were always in striking distance and they always had a chance.”

BL: The last three weeks it seems like you guys have done something each week that you didn’t do last year. A blowout, finishing off a conference opponent when you had the chance, a fourth quarter comeback, and then this week. You guys lost a lot of games like that last year. However ugly the stats or final score was, you made the play at the end to win the game. That’s something that didn’t happen your junior season. Is that another step in the evolution of this football team?

Stewart: “Yeah, just going back to last year, it didn’t come down to coaches or schemes, or anything like that. Ultimately it comes down to guys making plays. That’s what we’re doing this year at the key, crucial times. Guys are making plays when they have the opportunity to and it’s resulting in wins, so we just have to keep continuing to do that and keep getting wins in the win column.”

BL: A big transition this week, playing a team from the same state, you’re playing in front of 85,000-90,000 at home, and as a defender, you’re playing a drastically different style of offense. How difficult is a team like LSU, with their power style of football? It seems simpler than what you saw, but they’re deadly effective with that running game.

Stewart: “They won’t go out there and try to out-scheme us or anything like that. We know it’s going to be big boy football. They’re going to try to line up in the I-formation and try to out-physical us, and we’re going to line up and try to make sure they don’t out-physical us. That’s what is going to come down to. The front seven are going to have to be more physical than their front, than their line, running backs and tight ends. If we’re able to do that, we’ll come out with a win. If not, then they’ll come out with a win.”

BL: How confident are you on this team’s physicality? Prior to the season, that was a big question mark. Not for you, but for everyone that follows college football. Physicality and the front seven, how are they going to be able to handle it? You guys passed that test with flying colors against Florida in the opener. How much does that experience help you guys in terms of your mental preparation for this week?

Stewart: “A lot. We always knew people question our physicality, but we’ve never questioned it. We always feel like we’re more physical, and we don’t feel like we’ve played a game where we can say the other time was far more physical and we don’t know how we’re going to be able to handle it. This week we have the same mentality. We’re going to go in there and we’re going to show that we want to be the more physical team and we want to play harder and we want to play faster.”

BL: The excitement level of playing a game like this, LSU ... you guys played them a couple years ago, but it seems to be off the charts here around town. Is this getting to be old hat for this football team? With the last several games at Kyle Field, you’ve had the Texas Longhorns come in, you’ve had Florida in the SEC opener and you’ve had Arkansas. Is this just another game for you guys, or is there an added level of excitement in that locker room this week?

Stewart: “It’s just another game. We can’t prepare for this game any differently than we’ve prepared for the past games that we’ve had all season because if we’re doing that, then we’re setting ourselves up for failure later in the season. This game is just another game. We know it’s another marquee opponent, but we just have to go out there and do what we need to do.”

BL: How much better do you and this Texas A&M defense play, playing in front of a home crowd and feeding off that energy?

Stewart: “We all feel like we play better when we have the fans. They are rocking and going crazy which makes it hard for the offensive line to make checks, the quarterback to get signals out and for them to communicate, so they get late in the play clock. Whenever you’re getting tired out there and hear the fans out there going wild, it gives you one extra step that you might need to make the play.”

BL: (Jokingly) I was actually looking for an exact percentage.

Stewart: “One hundred percent.”

BL: You individually, as a linebacker going against this LSU team, they are going to pound away much like what’s going on outside of this room right now. They are going to come at you with that fullback time and time again. Heading into the week, is this one of those deals where you have to get your mind right because like you said, “This is big boy football, and I’m going to have about fifty head on collisions this week?”

Stewart: “Oh yeah, you just have to get ready for it. You have to prepare your body for it during the week by eating right, hydrating and getting a lot of sleep. You just have to be ready to go out there and know it is going to be a physical game, and at the end of the day make sure you left everything out there on the field.”

BL: What style do you prefer playing against?

Stewart: “We prefer the running style. Just because last week those 108 plays, they will kind of get you, so we prefer this type of offense this week.”

BL: Speaking of running around and chasing, do you ever feel sorry for the opposing defense when you see them trying to tackle Johnny Manziel? Have you ever seen a guy like that who can avoid a guy literally free on a blitz and may turn it into a touchdown run?

Stewart: “No, I don’t feel sorry for them at all. I love seeing it. You see Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, and guys like that who also come up free and slip out. Johnny is crazy, like on that one play when he ran forty yards backwards. Is he playing Madden or something out there?

“After he said he wasn’t even that tired afterwards. He’s crazy, I would have been dead tired.”

BL: Coach Sumlin didn’t show you the two tackles on one play by Johnny?

Stewart: “Yeah, we saw his great effort. He was using technique and going after the ball. He got off a block and two tackles, it was great! He kind of tapped his head after that and fortunately they reviewed that play so he got to come off and get a little oxygen and get a little breather. Fortunately he got his breath and we got to score.”

BL: You named some pretty special quarterbacks when you were thinking of people to compare Johnny to. Do you feel like he is on track to become one of those type of guys that people talk about for years and years?

Stewart: “Yeah, he is such a crazy athlete, it’s ridiculous. He is going to get so much bigger. I remember his (true) freshman year, we were running forties and he didn’t have any shoes and I had just finished running mine, so he came up to me and asked ‘Hey, can I borrow you cleats?’ I told him they were a size fifteen and he was said ‘Yea I know, that’s perfect.’

“I was like, ‘What, how does this little kid wear a size fifteen?’ He is going to be a big quarterback and, if he stays this athletic, then he is going to be dangerous. You are going to compare him to Cam Newton and other big time playmakers.”

BL: We all know after I ask this question what your answer is going to be, but what do you guys need to improve upon from last week? How do you guys as a unit from one week to the next do a much better job of tackling in space and tackling on the perimeter?

Stewart: “Making it a focus in practice. The key focal points of what you have to stop for on offense for us to have success, and we have to look at what we have to do as a defense as a whole with tackling and not getting stupid penalties. We are going to play hard and we are going to play fast and we are going to play physical. If we tackle and we don’t commit dumb plays, then we will be fine and we will have a lot of success on defense.”

BL: Louisiana Tech, on third and fourth down this week, went 7 for 22. Ole Miss was the only team this year that had consistent success against you guys on third and fourth down, except on that kind of important one there at the end. What has been the key for you guys to do such a tremendous job of getting yourselves off the field this year?

Stewart: “Understanding the situation, and also us winning first and second down. Whenever we have a team with third and six or more, it’s easy for Coach Snyder to call the defense and it is predictable what the offense is going to do. If they see man-to-man, we know what kind of routes they are going to see and if they see cover-two scheme or cover-three scheme, we know what they are going to do, so it’s easier.

“Guys can understand, defensive lineman can make their moves faster, defensive backs can come out of their breaks faster and linebackers can fill the holes or make their breaks faster. Winning first and second down is the biggest part.”

BL: Is that becoming magnified against an opponent like the one you are facing this weekend?

Stewart: “Oh yeah, if we get them in the second and eight-plus or third and six-plus, we will have a lot more success on defense than if they are on second and five or third and two. It makes it a lot harder for Coach Snyder to call defenses and a lot easier for LSU in those situations.”