Though that would be kind of fun to see, we all know that Chris actually getting bigger would be insane. I mean, look at this “kid” (thanks to B&G for the picture, copyright line and all).
With the switch to the 3-4 (or ’3-4 personnell’ as C-dub likes to say), the nose tackle position becomes even more important. It will be on the NT to force a double team, and to still make plays. Basically it takes a house of an individual to do this, and for my money, that’s Chris Stewart. Speaking of houses, I wonder if Chris is bigger than the guy that played House in Police Academy (part 3?). Anyone have any pictures? I’d like to do a side-by-side…
Anyway, back to the point, if I have one: what struck me in the recent BG article focusing on Stewart’s potentially-experimental-potentially-permanent shift to nose tackle is the level of maturity he displayed in the way he handled the interview, and his obvious maturation in terms of discipline and effort in making the transition to big time college football.
The first sign of Chris’ growing up came with his new-found dedication to physical conditioning. When you’re in high school, just being 375+ makes you a dominant force. I mean, how big are the kids across from you week to week? Maybe 250? All you do is lie down on them, and it’s over. Pancake style.
In college, things aren’t that easy. So Chris is learning to take care of himself - working hard at conditioning and shedding 75+ pounds in the process to hit a new, ‘trim’, weight of anywhere from 320-340, depending on the source.
“It’s basically like night and day, working with Coach Mendoza and the strength and conditioning staff. Now it’s not so much, ‘Can I make it through this drill?’ or lower level things like that. Now I’m concentrating on doing things the right way, doing things sound.
Being in better shape, you’re able to concentrate on important things: how to make a play, how to do things right, how to think when you’re tired and beat your opponent…During the agility days in our workouts, I really noticed it. I was able to push through fatigue and be there with my teammates helping others – that’s when I really noticed I wasn’t the weakest link anymore and I was pushing the way everyone else was pushing. To push myself past that boundary was a significant thing to me.
Chris has also worked on his diet - switching from the typical high school diet of burgers, fries, coke and candy to some heartier dining hall meals. This isn’t easy in a dining hall that offers those burgers, waffles with cream, a mile of pure-sugar cereal and fried everything (chicken, fries, onion rings…) every day. My guess is that he hits the Stir Fry line, then the Home Cookin’ line, before getting himself some Moose Tracks a few times a week.
But no matter how much he eats, it sounds like it’s getting healthier:
I’ve transitioned that to a lot more fruits and vegetables, a lot more broiled and steamed foods. I have bad stuff probably once or twice every week, but it’s a lot better than every day…and I’ve cut out the sweets a lot.
So it’s nice to see Chris taking ownership of his physical conditioning. It’s something he’ll certainly need to succeed as a nose tackle, or anywhere on the field at Notre Dame for that matter.
I was also impressed by how much Chris spoke about his desire to study and learn the game. This isn’t a trait unique only to Chris on the squad (as it’s obvious that Charlie goes after players with the ability to ‘get it’, and also the desire to), but it’s an important one.
I enjoy learning. Playbooks, schematics, I enjoy watching pro tapes of guys moving around. It’s kind of exciting for me to learn something new. I’m kind of taking this on the same way.
I doubt that you’d rarely hear something like this among the OL/DL corps of most big-time D1 programs, and it’s great to hear it from a relatively young, raw talent like Chris.
Given the increased importance of this position, and his newness on the defensive side of the ball, it’s great to see this mind-set emerging. And hopefully it permeates the DL, from the leaders down to the new guys.
Last year I would have called Chris a man-child.
Now? Just a man.
This Fall? Hopefully, The Man.
Share This
Related Posts:
in the kitchen saying she knows all about you and your floozy administrative assistant, but that’s fine because she’s leaving you for the gardener, well, you’ve got problems. But you should really be on the lookout for people looking to pull a prank on you while you’re trying to get your life back in order.
