The Young Bull

Maryland’s 2025 roster is highlighted by a crew of elite freshmen that’s been catching the national eye all season long. One of them, defensive lineman Sidney Stewart, is making his name known more and more with each snap he takes. 

The Terps’ defense has been a strength of Maryland’s so far this season, but it hasn’t come as a surprise to the true freshman, who’s already collected 5.5 sacks in seven games this season.

“I'm a humble confident,” Stewart said. “I'm only gonna get better. I'm young, so I think I'm the best, and I think to be the best, you have to have the mindset that you want to grow and get better. I know there's a lot of really talented guys out there, and I like to take elements from their game. I'll never be satisfied.”

Stewart’s recorded at least half a sack in six of the Terps’ seven games in 2025. He and quarterback Malik Washington have been poster children for the local talent in Maryland and what can be achieved when guys choose to stay local. 

“I think that just goes to show how much talent we have here,” Stewart said. “We have  successful five-star talent, guys from all over Maryland. Maryland is a smaller state, yet we just have a bunch of guys here. And I think if we keep doing a better job of getting guys to stay home, I think our team is only going to get better because they get to represent their state.”

Another strong freshman, Zahir Mathis, has also been tearing up opposing defenses alongside Stewart.

“We do a great job of competing. I think it's shown. We both have been getting after the quarterback, and we both have played a big role in stopping the running game as well,” Stewart said of Mathis.

“I think it's great that we appreciate each other and recognize each other's strengths, but we also know that  if I don't get there first, he's gonna get there first,” Stewart added. “It makes it all the more fun. I think having a guy like that of that skill level makes me more confident, because if I make mistakes, his ability will make up for it.”

Stewart’s connection to UMD goes deeper than just football. His cousin, basketball superstar Derik Queen, had an unbelievable season with the Terps last year before starting his NBA career. 

“I've been watching DQ all my life,” Stewart said. “He's a dog. I love watching him play. He just has a mentality that's different from other players and a play style that's different from a lot of players. He thinks he's the best, which I think you're supposed to, and he's only gonna get better.”

Queen was a guide for Stewart’s path to Maryland and helped him find a balance between sports, school and life. 

“I would say he's been a mentor for me in the off the field stuff,” Stewart said. “I think that's actually better, because as much as he knows about college sports, football is ultimately different than basketball, but we still both have to deal with a lot of NIL things and trying to grow our brand. We went to the same school, so he’s helped me socially, too, knowing places to go and stuff like that.”

It’s frankly remarkable that Stewart’s at Maryland as a football player. His family has a strong basketball background. His father, Stephen, spent time playing professionally overseas and his uncle, Larry, played for the SuperSonics, Bullets and Grizzlies in a successful NBA career. 

Still, Stewart credits his basketball upbringing for his nimble footwork and pass-rushing skills. His father says the two sports share similar skillsets, but can a basketball family produce a football star?

“Absolutely,” Stephan Stewart said. “The footwork, the mentality, the coordination. Sidney also played lacrosse. So for a guy his size, he can get out and run. I always tell people that when they ask me about him and why when he's pass-rushing he looks like he got shot out of a cannon.”

Stewart’s older brother played football growing up and the current Terp star found a passion for the sport from the sideline.

“Eventually he was nagging so much that we had to put him out there, and it just was a sport that he fell in love with,” Stephan Stewart said.

Now, he plays with a bullish intensity that’s earned him the “Young Bull” nickname and celebration to go with it. 

“I try to kind of try to play like a bull, you know, try to run through things and be aggressive and stuff,” Stewart said. “So I think it was just a perfect nickname.”

But Stewart had to face an unusual form of adversity before the start of his impressive collegiate career. A reclassification mix-up in high school left him unable to play football in his senior year at Concordia Prep High School, forcing him to once again watch the game he loves from the sidelines.

“I think it was a blessing in disguise,” Stewart said. “It allowed me to look internally, see the pieces of my game I was lacking, not only get my body college ready, but to hone in on skills that maybe other high school players don't get a chance to develop because they're constantly playing, or maybe they're just not aware of the necessity for those skills. I was able to get with higher-level trainers to take my already existing talent and then add on the college-necessary skills to it. So I'm actually grateful for that time off. In the moment, it felt like forever, but now that I'm here and playing, I think it's made me all the better.”

He was able to focus on his school and his peace of mind. Stephan Stewart told his son that even if his dreams of being an NFL star come to fruition, even if he has a Hall of Fame career, he’d still be retiring by the time he’s 35 or so.

“So what, is life over at that point?,” Stephan Stewart asked him. “Because you can't play football anymore, how are you still going to go on to live your life? I never allowed him to define who he was by the game of football. I told him that you give the sport everything you got. Every time you step out on foot, you give it everything you got because you prepared yourself and because your effort was there for yourself and your teammates.”

“I thought that year of him not being able to play football gave him an opportunity to work on his body, work on his mental approach to not only just football, but to life,” Stephan Stewart said. “It gave me the opportunity to strengthen him as a student, as well. I knew football would be back in his life.”

During the year off, Stewart honed in on another hobby of his that, like football, requires him to always be searching for the next move: chess.

“I think chess is one of the best games ever created and I think more people should play,” Stewart said. “Chess is strategy and football is strategy, and it forces you to think. Time might be a factor in football. You don't have that much time to think so. I think that time element helps a lot”

Now, he’s a star freshman and making a name for himself on the biggest stage in one of college football’s premiere conferences. Stewart and his father make time to go out to dinner and chat about the importance of staying grounded and keeping the big picture in focus.

“We just sit and talk about life and what's going on,” Stephan Stewart said. “From how he's feeling, his mental health, you know all those good things. We create a village around him that's able to support him, because it's not always gonna be easy. He’s gonna face a lot of adversity, so we want to always make sure that we support him and everything that he does.” 

Maryland’s on a bye week this week, creating an all-too-familiar feeling of waiting for the next opportunity.

“I was actually upset that we have bye weeks,” he said. “I was starting to get nightmares thinking that I wasn't gonna play.I think this team and defense work so well together. I just think this whole team is a work of art.”

But when Stewart’s Terps take the field again against No. 2 Indiana on Nov. 1, he’ll be ready to rush the Hoosiers’ offense with that bullish mentality that only a Marylander can have.