Many analysts think that the USC Trojans’ 2025 recruiting class was a bit underwhelming. They finished with the 15th-ranked class, and while many will say that USC should always have Top 10 classes, they did come away with a great haul of commitments and a lot of underrated prospects.
While he was one of the top-rated recruits at his position, incoming freshman Jahkeem Stewart may still be overlooked by many around the country.
After reclassifying from the 2026 class, Stewart finished ranked as the 5th overall defensive lineman, per On3 Industry Rankings.
Michael Cohen of Fox Sports just put out his Top 10 impact freshmen heading into the season, and he included Jahkeem Stewart.
Here are the Top 10 impact freshmen heading into the 2025 college football season, according to FOX Sports' @Michael_Cohen13 pic.twitter.com/lQXxJtfUt4
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) June 13, 2025
USC Trojans Jahkeem Stewart Listed In Top 10 Impact Freshmen
Cohen spent more time talking about the players who de-committed from USC during the 2025 recruiting cycle than he did on Stewart or any of the other commits, but when he did finally get to mentioning the impact that Stewart could have this season, he writes:
“Stewart was rated as high as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting cycle before reclassifying last October and reconfiguring his commitment timeline, which also cut short his high school career. He recorded 85 tackles (including 33 for loss and 20 sacks) with six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries during his last full season of football in 2023, a standout sophomore campaign that earned him All-American honors from MaxPreps. Stewart will likely factor into the defensive line rotation almost immediately for the Trojans, who improved from 119th nationally in total defense two years ago to 77th last fall under new defensive coordinator D’anton Lynn, one of the hottest names in the sport.”
Here is the full list of impact freshmen that he names:
- Bryce Underwood, QB, Michigan
- Dakorien Moore, WR, Oregon
- Devin Sanchez, CB, Ohio State
- David Sanders Jr., OT, Tennessee
- Gideon Davidson, RB, Clemson
- Kaliq Lockett, WR, Texas
- DJ Pickett, CB, LSU
- Andrew Babaloa, OT, Michigan
- Jahkeem Stewart, DE, USC Trojans
- Linkon Cure, TE, Kansas State
What is kind of interesting is that throughout Cohen’s analysis, he mentions all of the blue-chip players who were once committed to USC and ultimately de-committed, but none of those players made his list of impact players.
Part of that is because of the potential and upside that Stewart has. He is a massive kid who is already a master tactician and is living at the facility. The coaching staff has been raving about him and the immense ceiling that he has.
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The other factor that many will argue is depth at the position. Those who do not follow USC closely will call into question USC’s defensive line depth versus that of their Big Ten counterparts and will assume that Stewart will need to have an impact out of necessity.
We need to see it play out on the field, but on paper, USC will have one of the deepest and most talented defensive lines in all of college football, not just the Big Ten.
If Stewart makes an early impact, it will be because he earned the playing time and is just that dominant, not because the unit has no depth.