USC Freshman Phenom Jahkeem Stewart Wows Trojans Fans With Great Defensive Plays

The USC Trojans are hosting the Michigan State Spartans in their Big Ten home opener at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a beautiful Saturday night in Los Angeles.

USC freshman defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart had arguably his two best plays in his young Trojans career in the second quarter.

Jahkeem Stewart Living in Michigan State Backfield

USC Trojans Jahkeem Stewart Freshman Defensive Lineman Lincoln Riley Class of 2025 Michigan State Spartans Big Ten Los Angele — Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Missouri State Bears in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jahkeem Stewart had a pair of jaw dropping defensive plays during the first half against Michigan State. With just over 10 minutes to go in the second quarter, Michigan State had the ball at their own 27-yard line.

On 2nd and 8, Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles went under center and handed the ball off his his running back. Stewart undercut the attempted block by the Spartans right guard and kept his balance to get in the backfield, tackling the running back right as he gained possession of the ball for a loss of yards.

This forced a Michigan State 3rd and long. It turned into a stop for the Trojans defense as the Spartans punted the ball away after a Chiles run that was short of the line to gain on third down.

Jahkeem Stewart BLEW this play up before it even got started! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DyUMHINvcN
— Trojan Football ✌️ ᶠᵃⁿ (@TrojanFBx) September 21, 2025

On the next Michigan State drive, Stewart showed once again why he was such a highly rated recruit. With the Spartans driving in the USC red zone, the five-star class of 2025 defensive lineman got by the Michigan State left guard and tackled the back behind the line scrimmage, taking the wind out of the sails of this Michigan State drive. They settled for a field goal to cut the lead to 17-10.

5 stars playing like 5 stars. Jahkeem Stewart shot out of a canon ! 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/TNwtE18Nko
— Trojan Football ✌️ ᶠᵃⁿ (@TrojanFBx) September 21, 2025

USC headed in the half with a 24-10 lead over Michigan State.

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Freshman Phenom

Jahkeem Stewart singed with the USC Trojans out of Edna Karr High School in New Orleans, Louisiana this past offseason. He was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 13 defensive lineman in the class of 2025 according to 247Sports. He is showing why he was the highest graded defensive player in Lincoln Riley’s 2026 recruiting class.

Stewart missed USC’s season opener against the Missouri State Bears with an injury. He made his debut the following week against the Georgia Southern Eagles and then made his second appearance the following week on the road against the Purdue Boilermakers. Heading into Saturday’s game against Michigan State, he had three solo tackles and two tackles for loss this this season.

Stewart spoke to reporters after practice in the week’s preparation for Michigan State. He talked about how he is adjusting to the college game.

“For sure it was an adjustment period. You know, just from high school coming onto college, I feel as though you have to adjust anyway,” Stewart said. “Me being mature and having a coach to just keep me humble and who I’m really being. I feel as though they helped me with that, just adjusting to college.”