The nation's No. 3 overall high school football recruit and top wide receiver is skipping the rest of his senior season.
Evan Stewart, a 6-foot-1, 175-pounder from
Liberty (Frisco, Texas), announced via Twitter on Tuesday morning he needs to "mentally and physically" prepare for the next level.
Liberty is unbeaten at 5-0 midway through its regular season. Stewart entered the season with 89 career receptions for 1,670 yards and
16 touchdowns. He had 19 catches for 414 yards and three scores in
2021, including an 11-catch, 211-yard performance in a 55-21 win over Greenville on Sept. 3 (see highlights above).
According to the Dallas Morning News, Stewart played in just three of five games and was scheduled to miss another for undisclosed reasons. Liberty coach Matt Swinnea declined to comment to the DMN.
Stewart is the second five-star Texan to forego his remaining eligibility at the prep level, joining then-No. 1 2022 recruit
Quinn Ewers of
Southlake Carroll (Southlake), who left for Ohio State in part to capitalize on name, image and likeness opportunities.
Alabama, Florida, Texas and LSU appear to be the frontrunners in Stewart's recruitment.
247Sports analyst Gabe Brooks said Stewart is equally dangerous vertically as well as running after the catch, calling him an "explosive playmaker."
Also a track and field star, Stewart's personal best marks are impressive: 10.74 seconds in the 100 meters, 21.08 in the 200, 24 feet, 6 inches in the long jump and 47-9 in the triple jump.
In addition to Stewart and Ewers, two other four-star running backs from Texas bypassed their senior seasons: University of Texas-bound Jaydon Blue from Klein Cain (Houston) and Emeka Megwa of Nolan Catholic (Fort Worth). Blue decided in May to focus on training to avoid the “wear and tear” associated with the running back position. Like Ewers, Megwa reclassified to join the University of Washington a year early.
High school football fans and coaches are surely hope this won't become a trend.
Ewers said his preference would have been to complete his senior season at Carroll, however "following conversations with my family and those I know have
my best interests in mind, I've decided it's time for me to enroll at
Ohio State," he wrote at the time. "This is not just a financial decision; This is about what
is best for my football career."
The college landscape changed dramatically in July when the NCAA adopted the policy allowing athletes to benefit financially.
The
National
Federation of State High School Associations stated that profiting off a
player's relation to his or her team is prohibited. The University
Interscholastic League, the governing body for Texas high school
sports, publicly announced during the summer that state legislation prohibits prep
players from cashing in on NIL money.
Evan Stewart is stepping away from a Liberty team he helped go 5-0 so far this season.
File photo by Michael Horbovetz
