Some of you may remember Robert Stewart who was an All American defensive lineman at Alabama (I believe from 1986-1991). He passed a couple of days ago at the age of 55. He was drafted by the Saints but didn’t make it in the NFL but had a 12 year career in arena football.
He played high school football at Houston County High in Columbia, Al. I remember him as the most feared football player in high school back then. He rarely played defense in high school but was a running back. He was about 6’-0” 250 and ran a 4.5 40. They would line him up at tailback about 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage and he was literally a battering ram by the time he made it to the line of scrimmage. The only way you could tackle him was to hit him at his ankle. I remember one play where 2 guys tried to tackle him high at the same time. One of the guys had a cracked sternum and the other a broken vertebrae. He was powerful. He held most of if not all of the weightlifting records at Alabama at the time and Bill Curry called him the most complete physical specimen he had ever seen. He had very little body fat.
I didn’t know him personally, but by all accounts from friends he turned out to be a great guy. He did get into some trouble in college I believe his sophomore year, but turned it around and became an all American his senior year.
He played high school football at Houston County High in Columbia, Al. I remember him as the most feared football player in high school back then. He rarely played defense in high school but was a running back. He was about 6’-0” 250 and ran a 4.5 40. They would line him up at tailback about 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage and he was literally a battering ram by the time he made it to the line of scrimmage. The only way you could tackle him was to hit him at his ankle. I remember one play where 2 guys tried to tackle him high at the same time. One of the guys had a cracked sternum and the other a broken vertebrae. He was powerful. He held most of if not all of the weightlifting records at Alabama at the time and Bill Curry called him the most complete physical specimen he had ever seen. He had very little body fat.
I didn’t know him personally, but by all accounts from friends he turned out to be a great guy. He did get into some trouble in college I believe his sophomore year, but turned it around and became an all American his senior year.