LOS ANGELES — Six-foot-5, 290-pound freshman and highly-touted recruit Jahkeem Stewart made his anticipated debut with the USC football team on Saturday afternoon against Georgia Southern.
“Lord, I thank you for letting me wake up and play the game I love,” Stewart posted on Instagram on Saturday. “Protect us on this game day.”
The defensive lineman did not play in the season opener against Missouri State due to a leg injury, but got into Saturday’s game midway through the second quarter at defensive tackle.
@haleymsawyer Six-foot-5 freshman Jahkeem Stewart warms up ahead of USC football’s game against Georgia Southern. It’ll be the defensive lineman’s first college football game. #usc #uscfootball #collegefootball #defensiveline
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“He’s very eager, and we can’t wait for him to get out there,” defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn told reporters on Wednesday.
Stewart did not record a tackle in the first half against Georgia Southern, but helped the defense hold the Eagles to 201 total yards of offense in that timeframe. USC went into the break with a 31-13 lead.
Stewart was the No. 1 recruit nationally in the 2026 class before reclassifying to the 2025 class to enroll at USC in spring. He prepped at Edna Karr High School in New Orleans, which has turned out multiple NFL players, including current USC co-defensive coordinator/run game coordinator/defensive line coach Eric Henderson.
“He has confidence even as a young guy,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters on Friday, “but also there’s kind of an old school humbleness.
“He’s a grinder. And he loves the game, and throughout all of it, even as he became a highly sought-after recruit and all that, it still came down to playing football and working really, really hard at his craft.”
UCF transfer cornerback Chasen Johnson also played in his first game for USC on Saturday. The sophomore was held out of the Missouri State game due to an undisclosed injury.
Johnson is part of a deep cornerback room with plenty of competition for playing time.
“I thought all of them did good things (against Missouri State),” Lynn told reporters. “I think the more reps we can get all those guys and in actual games, the better.”
Weekly Captains
Quarterback Jayden Maiava, linebacker Eric Gentry, cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson, long snapper Hank Peppers and center Kilian O’Connor were named captains for Saturday’s game.
Maiava, Gentry and O’Connor repeated as captains after leading the team in the season-opener.
Maiava went 15-for-18 passing and threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns in the first half against Missouri State before backup quarterback Husan Longstreet entered the game in the second half.
“You’ve gotta just keep going out there and keep practicing and keep attacking each and every day,” Maiava said. “I’m still having that ‘still ain’t nothing’ mindset.”
