Coach Anwar Stewart, right, wants players at Kentucky who love playing football. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky defensive line coach Anwar Stewart says he likes to recruit players who love football. So how does he know if a potential recruit loves football?
“Our defensive staff wants to talk recruiting with kids who love ball,” Stewart said. “When I talk to a kid on the phone or in person, I ask him what he likes to do with his off time or what he likes to do on Saturday and Sunday.”
“If he says he likes to chill and hang out with my boys and play PlayStation, those are kids who probably do not love ball. We want to hear that he watches football, either college or NFL or both.”
Stewart said 2022 defensive line signees Tomiwa Durojaiye, Quentel Jones and Deone Walker all “love ball and are passionate” to fit in perfectly with the UK football culture.
“Tomiwa is somebody who really loves ball. This kid is a football junkie. He’s very athletic and moves very well. He needs to gain weight but I really like his upside. He has long limbs and is very good,” Stewart said. “Jones is not as polished but he is 6-3 with long arms and football is everything to him.”
“I want to establish a dominant front and Deone is one of those guys who can help us change the whole culture here.”
Kentucky also recently signed Delaware defensive lineman Noah Matthews.
“I don’t think we are ever going to be satisfied with how we do recruiting-wise. Depth is what you always want,” Stewart said. “Once somebody comes out, the next person who goes in, you do not want to miss a beat.”
“The other component is the daily competition in the weight room, classroom, practice field. The more good players you bring in, the more competition you have and the better that makes everybody.”
Stewart also likes his returning defensive linemen and says not to overlook Kahlil Saunders, who played in four games as a true freshman with two tackles for loss.
“Kahlil is one guy who does not get talked about a lot. He is going to be really good,” Stewart said. “He has long arms and can really run. He is going to be a dominant kid I think.”
“But I really think we have a roomful of good players. I just have to develop motors like Josh (Paschal) had. I have got to pull the goodness and greatness out of these guys every day because they all have a chance to be a starting lineman. I would like to have a rotation eight or nine deep and it’s my job to get them all ready.”
One Response
Yep. he is right. I like it!