Signee Q and A: Donald Stewart
One of the most important additions to Stanford's 2016 recruiting class came as part of the Cardinal's strong close to the cycle, in standout New Jersey wide receiver Donald Stewart.
Stewart, a talented prospect at a position of need for the Cardinal, committed to Stanford the Saturday before Signing Day. He chose The Farm over numerous other offers, including one from Michigan, which was the onetime favorite and eventual second-place finisher.
Cardinal Sports Report recently spoke with Stewart about picking Stanford over Michigan and the recruiting process as a whole.
Cardinal Sports Report: This was such a long process for you and I know things got pretty crazy at the end. How has life been in the two weeks since Signing Day? Has this been a bit of a relief for you to have this all done with?
Donald Stewart: Honestly this has all been just a tremendous blessing for me and my family. I'm just happy I got the opportunity to go to a school like this and receive and great education and play football at the same time.
CSR: Moving back a few weeks, you took your Stanford official in mid-January, then your Michigan visit. And then after Michigan, there were some comments you made that Michigan might be standing out, they might be a bit of a leader for you. Can you take me through the last 10 days (of the recruiting cycle), from that Michigan official to picking Stanford? What changed, what was the progression of all of that?
Stewart: It was tough. It was tough. I was definitely leaning toward Michigan a lot. They've been recruiting me very, very heavily since the start of my sophomore year and then they continued all the way leading up until Signing Day. It was definitely a tough decision. I think I chose Stanford bacuse I think I worked very, very hard to get to that point in terms of getting admitted, taing AP classes, taking the SAT numerous times, keeping my grades up since freshman year. I think at the end of the day when I talked to my parents about the decision, that was the best overall fit for me.
CSR: Do you remember what Stanford's reaction was when you told them your choice? And which coaches you spoke with?
Stewart: At first I told Coach Shaw and then I told Coach Pritchard and Coach Hansen. And they were very, very excited, enthusiastic, too. Coach Shaw told me how he remembered that day I came to camp and how focused I was. He said he wants me to keep that focus and maintain that as soon as I get on campus so I can make an impact right away.
CSR: Moving to some bigger picture questions, like you mentioned, you've been recruited forever. What's the funniest recruiting pitch or recruiting line from a coach that you remember getting?
Stewart: I think the first letter I ever received was from Georgia Tech my sophomore year. They always told me, like, 'We're going to recruit you really, really hard. We want you. We want you so bad, Donald. We love you, this and that.' And they never ended up offering.
I'm not bashing the school - I loved it when I went down there, I loved the facilities, the coaches, the players. But (Georgia tech assistant coach Bryan) Cook was just like, 'Donald, we love you.' He came up to my school at Seton Hall Prep. When I transferred to Paramus Catholic, he came there. And he's like, 'Yeah, Donald, you're one of the best receivers in the country,' just hyping me up. And at the end of the day they never even offered me a scholarship. So I guess that was the game that I learned during the recruiting process.
CSR: What was the most memorable recruiting pitch you received, if it's different than the funniest?
Stewart: I think just being able to visit all of these great academic schools with my family has been such a blessing because I've been only one of a few in my family to be recruited like this. Just to be able to travel with my family and visit schools all over the country and having my younger brother experience this along with me, it's all been a blessing, to be honest.
CSR: What was your favorite part of the recruiting procses?
Stewart: I think my favorite part was being able to hang out with the guys on the team at the schools that I visited. So, like, when I went to Michigan, obviously I was able to hang out with Jabrill, Jake Butt, Kareem Walker, Ahmir Mitchell, all of those guys who are up there already. And then just being able to listen to those guys and them giving me advice on how to succeed in college when I get to the college level, that's been one of my favorite parts.
And then also being able to travel and see all of these schools, there are a lot of great schools out there. A lot of great schools.
CSR: With Stanford, I know some of the commits, the players that were committed to them earlier in the process were out there trying to recruit you. Which of those guys would say were the most vocal? Was there one who was the most vocal?
Stewart: I don't know if he was the most vocal, but I've known Clark (Yarbrough) since my sophomore year. We both live in New Jersey - me and Clark are brothers. He was egging me on to go to Stanford. But he never pushed to the point where I was like, 'Alright Clark, just leave me alone.' But Clark, he definitely recruited me the hardest. Also, K.J. Costello and Trevor (Speights), those guys pushed me a lot. But Clark, that's my brother. I love Clark.
CSR: What was the worst part of the process?
Stewart: I think the worst part was calling all of the coaches and telling them that you can't go to their school. There are some relationships that you form with these coaches since the end of my sophomore season and you form these relationships when you talk to them on a day-to-day basis, and you talk to them weekly. They get involved with your family. They come to your home and sit and talk with your parents. They come in your house and meet your brothers and sisters. So I think the hardest part was telling them that I'm not going to be able to their school. I think that was one of the toughest parts for me.
CSR: Did you ever experience any negative recruiting specifically toward Stanford?
Stewart: I heard some talk about how some kids, when they get admitted, they have to go to a community school or they don't fully get admitted. Schools would tell me to watch out for if they say you get admitted, make sure you're actually in and you don't have to do other things in order to get into the school, you know, because they just wanted me to go to their school.
CSR: Like you mentioned, you started getting recruited sophomore year, maybe earlier. If you could do it all over again, what would your advice be to freshman year Donald Stewart about this process?
Stewart: I've been blessed with tremendous parents who have helped me tremendously throughout this process so I was never in a rush. I was never hesitant about my decision. I just soaked everything in. And it's been a great process for me and my family and I think I made a great decision for me.