During a meeting among the Oregon running backs earlier this week, position coach Gary Campbell reviewed film with his players and took a look at a play where quarterback Dennis Dixon faked a hand-off to Jonathan Stewart and the junior running back was hit immediately at the line of scrimmage.
As the Washington crowd cheered wildly believing Stewart had been tackled, he lay on the ground with a pile of Huskies on top of him but had one eye fixated on Dixon continuing to run down the field.
For Stewart, the big hit was worth it. If that’s what it takes to get the big play, he’ll take it, Campbell recalled Stewart saying during the meeting.
It’s one of the sacrifices Stewart has to make throughout the rest of the season. After the season-ending injury to Jeremiah Johnson, the coaches have asked Stewart to handle a bigger load while sophomore Andre Crenshaw moves into Johnson’s backup role.
While Stewart was expected to get a few more carries against Washington, his career-best 32-carry, 251 yard performance surpassed most people’s expectations.
“He knew he had to carry the load since we didn’t have Jeremiah in the backfield and he accepted that role,” Campbell said. “Now we have to see if he can do it on a consistent basis. He’s prepared to do that anytime we ask him to.”

Carrying the load

Thirty two carries, however, is not something they want him to do every game. Campbell said he’d prefer to see around 25 to keep Stewart fresh.

“It’s not easy carrying the ball 32 times in this league and it takes its toll on you,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to have him carry it 32 times.”
Still, if Stewart has to handle the kind of load again it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. While Stewart’s conditioning has always been excellent, Campbell said the junior has taken it to a new level this season. He’s also not suffering from nagging injuries and is absorbing fewer big hits on his body.
“He stated that it was a different game for him because he started to get tired in the first half. After a while, he came to the sideline and said ‘I feel like I’m getting stronger,’” Campbell said. “He’s in great condition, he’s just never had to push himself to the ultimate test.”
While Stewart said carrying the ball 32 times and setting a career high in yards was a big deal for him, it didn’t validate his entire Oregon career, or even this season.
“I haven’t really thought about the whole ‘proving it to myself’ thing but it’s good to know I can take that load,” Stewart said.
Although he’s feeling the effect of the additional work.
“I’m a little bit more sore,” Stewart said on Monday, a day he was asked not to practice.
Still, one of the dramatic improvements in Stewart’s play this season is his ability to avoid the hit when it’s not needed.
“He’s able to just duck his head a little bit and not take the beating he used to take. It’s keeping him fresh and keeping him healthy,” right tackle Geoff Schwartz said. “There were four or five times when he ran out of bounds where in previous situations he would run the guy over just for the extra yard when now he saves that energy for another big run later in the game.”
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said everything about Stewart’s self-awareness has improved this season.
“He’s running with more thought to protecting the football and protecting himself,” he said. “He’s going to go down when the pile gets too big instead of standing up and letting people take shots at him. He’s trying to make sure he’s delivering blows rather than receiving them. I think that a great running back learns to do those things naturally, and he’s learning to do those things naturally.”
The combination of everything has made Stewart into the player many envisioned him as. He’s become the complete back that opposing defenses fear and turned himself into perhaps the conference’s most dominating running back.
Washington defensive coordinator Kent Baer seems to think so. After the Washington game, he called Stewart the best back in the conference.
“He’s an NFL back, no doubt,” Campbell said. “I don’t know that he’s ready for that now, but it certainly looked like it Saturday.”

Bittersweet day

Stewart was all grins following Oregon’s 55-34 win over Washington, in front of friends and family, but Johnson’s absence gave the game a hollow feeling.
“I missed him a lot,” Stewart said. “It’s like if you lose one of your best friends that’s always there with you. He was missed tremendously throughout the whole team.”
While sitting on the bench towards the end of the game, a television camera approached Stewart and he pointed to the camera saying, “For you J.J.!” He even had Johnson’s No. 24 on his arm.
Johnson saw it. He was watching the game, of course.
“It made me feel good that the team’s thinking about me and loving me out there,” he said. “With a torn ACL I was still on my feet the whole game rooting for my boy. There were some points in the game when he was tired, it was like, ‘Damn, I wish I was there with him.’ But he kind of had to be a man and step up to the challenge. I’m really proud he did that … he had 250 yards? That’s domination right there.
“I would have had at least 170,” Johnson said.
Stewart said he’s a better running back, in part, because of Johnson. Both have learned a great deal about each other’s different running styles. But now, rather than learning from Johnson on the sidelines or in the backfield together, Stewart will have to resort to listening to his buddy’s critiques.
And although Crenshaw has filled in admirably in his first 100-yard game, the team will rely on Stewart.
“Now he really gets to know what it’s like to have the team on his back,” Johnson said.
Having the same type of performance against USC’s dominating defense will be a tough task considering it allows only 64.1 rushing yards per game.
Johnson, though, remains optimistic for his teammate.
“Next game won’t be anything for him. He’s going to go in and dominate, as usual,” Johnson said. “He might get 40 carries this game. You never know.”
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