PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Coastal Carolina freshman defensive end Josaiah Stewart has been named one of 14 semifinalists for the fourth annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award presented by the Maxwell Football Club.
 
The award is presented to the outstanding freshman player in college football.
 
Named to the 2021 Ted Hendricks Award Final Watch List last week, and earning first-team All-Sun Belt honors earlier today,
 
Stewart, who was named to the 2021 Ted Hendricks Award Final Watch List last week, which honors the top defensive end in college football, picked up first-team All-Sun Belt honors in his first season at Coastal Carolina.
 
Stewart has made an immediate impact for the Chants' defense this season, as he shattered the CCU single-season sacks record of 10.5 sacks set by consensus All-American and current Philadelphia Eagle Tarron Jackson in 2019 with 12.5 sacks in his first collegiate season this year.
 
The true freshman also finished the regular season with 15.5 tackles-for-loss which is the second-most in a single season in CCU history. His 12.5 sacks lead the Sun Belt, rank fourth nationally, and are the most by a true freshman in all of FBS. His 12.5 sacks are also just one shy of the Sun Belt single-season record of 13.5 sacks. His 15.5 tackles-for-loss are the most by a true freshman nationally this year, rank fourth in the Sun Belt on the season, and is just 1.0 shy of the school single-season record of 16.0.

In only his second game as a Chant, Stewart registered 3.5 sacks in a win over Kansas (Sept. 10) to set CCU's single-game sacks record. He topped that with 4.0 sacks in the road win at Georgia Southern (Nov. 6) and also set a new CCU single-game tackles-for-loss record with 5.0 versus the Eagles.
 
While splitting time at defensive end this season, he has 42 total tackles, including a career-high eight stops twice. He has also forced three fumbles, which is tied for second in the conference. In Sun Belt play, his 12.0 tackles-for-loss and 9.0 sacks both led the league.
 
For the first time, this year, the award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala along with several of the other top awards in college and professional football.
 
The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. Past winners include; Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) - 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis) - 2019, and Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) – 2020.
 
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