Five-Star Defensive Lineman Jahkeem Stewart Ready to Return to Ohio State

NEW ORLEANS — Ohio State was recently able to host arguably the nation’s top prospect in the 2026 recruiting class in New Orleans (LA) St. Augustine defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart.

“It was my best visit,” Stewart reiterated during our Southern Swing stop. “It was great. Just going up there and getting to talk to coach (Larry) Johnson and coach (LaAllan) Clark and just feeling the vibe. I feel as though I could fit in to that program with coach Johnson and what he’s got going on right now. He’s a legendary coach, one of the best coaches in college football right now and in history so why not get coached by that coach? It’s a winning program and it’s consistent and I’m all about consistency and I want to win.”

What made the Ohio State visit standout so much from others that the five-star prospect has taken?

“Connections,” he said. “Just really the vibe of everything. Just sitting down and talking to the coaches and them having stuff setup to tell me what I need to work on. Everybody tells me how good I am, but I’m the type of player that wants to get better. So I’ve got to be coached even harder.”

It won’t be much longer until the Buckeyes get another chance to impress the 6-foot-6, 270-pound prospect as a return visit is already in the works.

“I’m going to get back for a camp sometime in June,” Stewart said. “My coach has all of my dates and everything so he’s going to take care of all of that.”

Stewart has hit it off with Johnson so far with the Buckeye D-Line coach heaping some heavy praise upon Stewart’s potential.

“It’s great,” he said. “Having coach Johnson in your ear, like I said, he’s a legendary coach so just him coaching all of those great players, like Chase Young. He compared me to Chase Young and he showed me how he would use me in the scheme and everything. He feels like I’m one of those franchise players and I feel like he could develop me into that person.”

Hear more from Stewart after his dominant spring game performance as we went one-on-one with the big-time defensive lineman as part of our Southern Swing recruiting tour.