“They’re getting a guy that’s going to do whatever he has to do for his teammates”

He has a football resumé that positively sparkles. And among the items that jump out from ArDarius Stewart’s list of credentials are the following:

• Winning a NCAA national championship with the Alabama Crimson Tide as a sophomore in 2015, and finishing second in receiving on the squad that year with 63 receptions for 700 yards and four touchdowns. (Current Atlanta Falcons star Calvin Ridley was first).
• Leading Alabama in receiving yardage a year later, as a junior, with 864 yards on 54 catches for eight TDs.
• And, after forgoing his senior year and opting to enter the 2017 NFL Draft, being selected in the third round, 79^th overall by the New York Jets.

So, some four years later Stewart was asked Tuesday after another day of Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp to sum up his professional career to this point.

“Basically it’s been rough and tough,” said the 27-year-old product of Fultondale, Al. “You know how football is… it’s a man’s game. It’s also a business and that’s something I learned growing up and going through the process. That’s just what it is.”

Stewart is one of a trio of receivers – along with Carlton Agodusi and Kelvin McKnight – who have really taken advantage of a recent opportunity with Darvin Adams currently injured and Rasheed Bailey just returning to practice Tuesday after a couple days of absence.

“Competitive, all the athletic ability you need to be very successful,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea when asked to describe Stewart. “Comes well coached and the little details he needs to take care of are already ingrained in him. Then it’s just a matter of him learning and making sure he’s right. That came fairly quickly for him, too.

“Certainly a guy with the complete package that has a good opportunity in front of him.”

That’s a word – opportunity – that Stewart dropped a few times in his Zoom call on Tuesday. And some context here is important, as Stewart has spent the last few years chasing opportunities, from the Jets to the Oakland Raiders to the Washington Football Team and now to the Bombers.

His days with the Jets ended not long after he served a two-game performance enhancing drug suspension – the time off about half of what is normally levied as he tested positive for a diuretic or masking agent rather than a banned substance.

“Basically it was just a mistake,” he said. “It was something I didn’t really know. It’s something I take full responsibility of because it was something I was supposed to have knowledge of.

“Right now I’m just focused on what’s at hand now. The things that went on in my past, they’re good in there. Now I’m focused on doing my best here and taking advantage of my opportunity and what the coaches are giving me. I’m blessed to be able to do what I love and what God gave me the ability to do. So, to me, an opportunity is an opportunity no matter how big or small it is. You’ve got to do your best.”

What role Stewart might play with the Bombers if he makes the team will become clearer in the next few days as we get closer to the August 5^th season opener. The club is returning all of its starting receiving corps from the 2019 Grey Cup, but with Adams on the mend and an expanded practice roster, there is room for new help.

To that end, Stewart was asked to describe what the Bombers are getting in him. And his answer spoke of his maturity and, again, what this opportunity means after bouncing around looking for a football home.

“They’re getting a professional,” he said. “They’re getting a team player. They’re getting a guy that’s going to do whatever he has to do for his teammates, clearly, because of what I had to do at Alabama from catching the ball, to blocking for those guys I had running the ball.

“It’s pretty much the same thing (here). I’m going to keep rolling with it and keep going.”