Nation’s No. 1 Ranked 2026 Player’s Back at USC in June for Third Time in 2024
Five-Star 2026 Reserve (LA) St. Augustine Defensive Lineman Jahkeem Stewart announced his top 15 schools in February.
The programs making the cut were Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.
“What made these 15 schools stand out is the games they play in and their environments,” Stewart told On3. “I picked these 15 because of the coaching and the D-Linemen they put into the draft.”
This spring Stewart kept a busy schedule with stops at Texas A&M (March 23), Auburn (April 6), Ohio State (April 13), USC (April 20) and Oregon (April 27). All but the visit to College Station were for Spring Games.
Although a class of 2026 prospect, at least for now, Stewart’s plans is to announce a school choice in January at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
Impact USC spring game visit
The April 20 Spring Game visit was his third overall to Los Angeles, but his first in-depth and extended visit with the new USC defensive staff.
“It was great,” said Stewart of his time at USC back in April. “I was just really sitting back evaluating what they were doing in the Spring. Sitting down talking to Henny (Eric Henderson) and Coach (Jones). It was great getting to know them even more and building on a relationships we already have.
“Being on the USC campus and visiting is always be great. What they had planned out for me ahead of time, it was great. Coming back on this trip and spending time with Coach Henny and Coach Sky (Skyler Jones) was great and he’s also from New Orleans, so that’s another relationship we have together.”
Coach Henny
One of the primary reasons USC’s become an extremely attractive spot for elite defensive linemen, was the addition of former L.A. Rams DL coach and New Orleans native, Eric Henderson.
“Coach Henny is from New Orleans and I really like the way he coaches,” Stewart said. “He coaches similar to my Clyde (Alexander). When he got hired, it shook my eyes because him and coach Clyde are best friends. So, whenever he was on L.A. Rams, Coach Clyde was telling him about me. He didn’t believe it. So, whenever he’s really seen me in person and seen me work, it blew his eyes.
“He sees me as the next great and it’s a blessing to be in these shoes and being recruited by Coach Henderson. He’s a great coach, you know, one of the best coaches in college football right now.”
Stewart’s back at USC in June
With a school choice coming in January and Stewart seriously considering a reclassification to the 2025 recruiting class, the remainder of this offseason will be spent training and visiting the schools he’s seriously considering.
One of the June visits for Stewart and Coach Alexander will be for one of USC’s Elite Football Camps.
“In June, I really just want to work out with coach Henderson,” said Stewart. “Show him what I can do and get a feel on what it’s like working with him. Me and coach Clyde will be going to the schools that I’m really considering and just working with those coaches to see how I like it.”
Los Angeles
While getting coached up in a program that has eyes on winning championships is extremely significant to Stewart, so is feeling comfortable with where he’s located. He shared his brief thoughts on L.A.
“I love it,” said Stewart. “It’s better weather than Louisiana with less humidity. But it was great coming back, spending time with all the coaches and just really building on the relationships we already have. That’s sort of a little bit of this great process and great journey I have with USC right now. I like what they’re building and see myself fitting into that program.”
More on USC
Although we fully understand a player of Stewart’s caliber will focus greatly on football the he gets top college, he’s legitimately looking at what a school offers him across the board. USC checks several of those boxes.
“With USC, they have more opportunities off the field that I’m very interested in,” Stewart said. “And just Coach Henny being one of the one of the best defensive line coaches in the world. So, it’s just those two things connected to each other, Like, why not USC?
“They’re really focused on getting me into their program, because they know I could go a lot in into their program. But It’s academics first and with the people I’d be around, there’s a lot to build around.”
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