Oregon's top 10 players of the 2000s: #4 - Jonathan Stewart
The man who holds the UO single season record for rushing yards comes in at number four.
Arguably the most high profile recruit to ever sign with Oregon turned into perhaps the school's best running back ever.
Jonathan Stewart was blessed with an incredible blend of speed and strength that is almost impossible to find. Some recruiting publications listed Stewart as the top-ranked running back recruit in the country, and when he signed on to play for the Ducks, fans immediately began dreaming of what kind of a star he might be.
Stewart raised some eyebrows right away in his first collegiate action against the Houston Cougars. In the second half, he took a handoff and rumbled through a pack of defenders, carrying a massive pile for 25 yards before finally going down after a 33-yard gain.
A sprained ankle against Montana slowed his progress for much of the year, but he finally got back to full strength near the end of the season. Another one of his signature plays came in the foggy Civil War game in 2005. Stewart took the opening kickoff of the second half 99 yards for a touchdown to break OSU's back, and the Ducks went on to a dominating 56-14 victory to cap off a 10-1 regular season.
Stewart led the Ducks in rushing in 2006, but once again he battled injuries for most of the year. He finished the season just short of the 1,000 yard mark with 981 and 10 touchdowns.
But in 2007, Stewart finally delivered the kind of season everyone knew he was capable of. He rushed for at least 100 yards in four of Oregon's first five games. That span included another one of his best plays as a Duck, when he ran for a career long 88-yard touchdown against Fresno State in the third game of the season.
One of his finest games for Oregon came in what amounted to a homecoming game against Washington at Husky Stadium. Stewart grew up about 45-minutes outside of Seattle, and in front of many of his friends and family members he put on a show. He ran for a career high 251 yards and two touchdowns, as the Ducks piled up 465 rushing yards and 661 yards of total offense. Oregon took down the Dawgs 55-34.
As good as his night in Seattle was, Stewart's final game as a Duck in the Sun Bowl was even better. With quarterback Dennis Dixon lost for the season with a knee injury, the Oregon coaches leaned heavily on Stewart to help take the load off of redshirt freshman Justin Roper in his first start.
It was a good decision. Stewart eclipsed his career high by two yards when he gained 253 against South Florida. With the game tied at 11, he blew the contest open for the Ducks as he ran for a 71-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He also hauled in an 8 yard touchdown pass from Roper, and Oregon crushed the Bulls for a 56-21 victory to close the season.
Stewart's 1,722 yards smashed the UO single season record. He was an easy choice for first-team All-Pac-10 at running back, but he was also chosen as a first-team All-American by several publications.
After the season Stewart decided to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL Draft. His three seasons with the Ducks put him second on the UO all-time rushing yards list with 2,891, just 405 yards short of Derek Loville, who played all four years. Stewart also finished third all-time in all-purpose yards with 4,889.
Stewart was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 1st round - 13th overall - in the 2008 NFL Draft.
