Jahkeem Stewart left no mystery as to how he was feeling after USC’s 25-21 win over Washington on Saturday night.
“I’m hungry,” the defensive tackle told a room of reporters. “I need some gumbo.”
He’s known around USC as one of the best cooks on the team, specializing in the Cajun-meets-Creole dishes that his home state of Louisiana is known for, and he reiterated the need for gumbo as he left the press conference.
It was a priceless reintroduction for a player who seemed to be on the verge of fading into oblivion after a highly promising start to his college career.
“It’s unbelievable,” defensive end Luke Wafle said of Stewart. “Whenever his name is called, he’s ready to take snaps and he’s done an unbelievable job. We’re definitely privileged to have him.”
Stewart was a prized recruit who was 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds and the No. 13 defensive lineman in the country when he committed to USC. He finished a breakout freshman year with 18 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks — despite playing the entire year with a stress fracture in his foot.
Foot injuries can be detrimental for a football player, especially linemen who are cutting, moving laterally and exploding toward the line of scrimmage with significant body weight.
Although coaches or players never let on to the severity of the injury, Stewart appeared to be in danger of following a disappointing path after missing the first four games of this season.
The pass rush struggled without Stewart, a defensive spark who was dutifully, energetically supporting his teammates from the sidelines.
“Our D-line is the tip of the spear,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We have put a massive emphasis in every way possible to make our D-line as good as we can. We’re to the point where we need to expect a big-time performance out of that group every week.”
And Stewart, now carrying a listed 295 pounds, was big-time on Saturday night. Linebacker Elijah Newby provided enough pressure on Washington quarterback Demond Williams to force him to cough up the ball, and Stewart was there in the backfield to scoop it up and run 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
“I picked the ball up and ran 22 miles per hour,” Stewart said, with a big smile.
“If that was 22, they’re going to disband that GPS company,” a laughing Lincoln Riley replied.
It was the longest touchdown by a USC defensive lineman since Jamaal Jarrett scored on a 70-yard interception against Purdue last season — a play that was affectionately dubbed “the thicc six.”
It was also the first fumble recovery touchdown for the Trojans since Stanley Ta’ufo’ou scored on a 23-yard recovery against Nevada in 2023.
USC’s defense took a step forward against Washington, holding Williams to a season-low 198 passing yards. The Huskies collected 203 total passing yards, which was the second-fewest out of all of the Trojans’ opponents this season.
Whether that’s due to defensive coordinator Gary Patterson’s move from the sidelines to the booth remains to be seen. A larger sample size is needed before a clear judgment can be made.
“We’ve got a heck of a defensive staff,” Riley said. “It’s kind of like players, right? You’re trying to move the chess pieces to put everybody in the right position to get the best out of them. And I thought our coaches on the field did a great job, I thought Gary called a really good game. And the players responded.”
USC’s next task is a Penn State team that has fallen out of the AP Top 25 rankings after two straight losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Nittany Lions are roughly in the middle of the Big Ten Conference, scoring 32 points per game.
It’ll be another opportunity for the Trojans to step forward, and also a chance to compare defensive coordinators as well as the USC’s defensive past and present. USC hired Patterson after D’Anton Lynn left to become the defensive coordinator at Penn State.
“We’re just worrying about us playing for our team,” Stewart said. “I feel that’s what we did and we came out victorious. There’s a lot to fix, but we have one of the best staffs in the country. Because we’re going to fix it. No team comes out perfect, and I feel as though it takes time.”