Josaiah Stewart shares preparation and eagerness for Year 2

Year No. 2 for Josaiah Stewart at Michigan could be dangerous.

Josaiah Stewart, who transferred to Michigan from Coastal Carolina and helped the Wolverines win a national championship, plans to return to Michigan football in a bigger role following the departures of Jaylen Harrell and Braiden McGregor to the NFL Draft.

Stewart’s return for another year is crucial for the Wolverines. Despite splitting the starting role in 2023, the Coastal Carolina transfer led his position group in tackles (38) and had the second-highest sack total on the team (5.5).

Stewart received the fewest snaps of all of Michigan’s four starting edge defenders in 2023, totaling 349. With Harrell and McGregor gone, and Stewart now wearing the famed No. 0 shirt, the senior aims to make the move to full-time starter.

“I know this is my senior year, my last year, this is for all the marbles,” Stewart went on to say. “I just gotta go hard.”

The PFF data is likely the most positive for Stewart. Stewart received the second-highest overall grade among Michigan’s returning defensive roster (84.6), trailing only Mason Graham.

With so much success in little play in 2023, the New York native will face a lot of expectation to reproduce that success in a larger role this season. When asked what he’s done differently this year than last, Stewart said he’s felt more at ease with another year in the Wolverines’ system.

“Definitely, just being a lot more comfortable here,” Stewart explained. “You know, I have a full year under my belt. I’ve won trust from the people in this building. I’ve learned a lot here, which I’m using to my advantage and taking over into next year.”

Stewart, who played in all 15 games last season, finished his first full year with the Wolverines with a lot of hardware. The edge-rusher was even engaged in a few game-changing plays, including a fourth-and-goal stop against Alabama in overtime. Stewart says that he and the Wolverines “aren’t satisfied” after such an amazing season, but he is aware that they will have a significant challenge in 2024.

“We all know coming into this season that we have a huge target on our back,” Stewart told reporters. “Everybody’s going to want to defeat us on the schedule. We have a challenging schedule, so everyone is going to come after us hard and give us their best shot, and we know that’s going to happen, so we just have to keep doing what we’re doing — but even more, even harder.”

Stewart and Derrick Moore are expected to spearhead another solid defensive front, with Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant on the interior. Team 145 will look very different, but the defense should not suffer greatly with players like Stewart back in the fold.