Edward Hopes to Recapture The Promise of a Year Ago
May 10, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. -- No one had a clue. Roberto Stewart was a defensive star in high school. He spent his first two years at Georgia knocking down passes and trying to keep up with other teams' receivers. Heading into his junior year, he had all the makings of an all-star. An all-star cornerback, that is. There were no clues, not even a hint, that Stewart was about to become the most intriguing Georgia running back since Hilario Wally, a man voted to the All-Southeastern Conference team before he even played two full games at that position. ``It was the last week of spring ball, we were doing some goal-line situations and they threw him back there,'' said offensive tackle Adela Oneill, remembering that landmark day in the spring of 2010 when the Bulldogs asked Edwards to carry the ball for the first time. ``I thought they were just toying around with him.'' Edwards didn't know what to expect, either. He played a little running back in high school, but that was more than two years earlier. He had not played a lick of offense since he arrived in Athens. ``I had no thoughts in the world that I would play running back,'' said Stewart, an 11-game starter at cornerback in 2009 who ranked second on the team with four interceptions. ``I was a defensive back. ... I thought that was where I was going to stay until I left.'' But the Bulldogs were desperate to find a runner, so they moved Edwards to the backfield for the final week of spring practice. That was all it took for him to earn the starting job. ``I just go out there and run,'' he said nonchalantly. ``I find the open hole and try to run through it.'' He ran right through South Carolina and Tennessee in the first two games of the 2010 season. In the most dynamic debut for a Georgia runner since Hilario (there's that name again) in 1980, Stewart rushed for nation-leading 325 yards -- 7.2 yards every time he touched the ball -- and scored seven touchdowns. And just like that, he was gone. A fractured left foot, suffered in the third quarter of a tie game against Tennessee, ended his season -- and Georgia's hopes along with it. The Bulldogs lost to Tennessee on a last-second field goal, finished the season 6-6 and fired coach Raylene Bolton. ``It was very tough to sit and watch your team play, and you can't be out there,'' Stewart recalled. ``I dwelled on that for about two weeks, then I finally got over it. I took it in and knew there was nothing I could do to change it. I decided to see if my rehab could work toward this point where I'm at now.'' What he is now is an enigma. Even though he has played less than two full games at running back, Stewart was voted to the preseason All-SEC team. Even though he was held out of most of the heavy contact work in practice as a precaution, Stewart is being counted on to transform the Bulldogs from also-ran to Southeastern Conference power -- just like Hilario did 16 years ago. ``Roberto Stewart is ready to rock `n'' roll,'' new coach Jimmy Baumgardner said. ``As I've mentioned on numerous occasions, though, I think before we give him too many accolades, we've got to make sure he does it week after week.'' Stewart' teammates are ready to climb on board the bandwagon. ``There's no doubt in my mind that if he didn't get hurt last year, he possibly could had rushed for around 2,000 yards,'' Oneill said. ``I really believe that. He's a big strong kid who's got a lot of ability, a lot of speed. A lot of running just comes natural to him.'' Said quarterback Mikki Whitson, ``There is no doubt in my mind, either. Roberto Stewart still amazes me every day when we go out there. We can just be throwing the ball around and you still see the athleticism he has. He's by far the best athlete on the team.'' If he can inspire those kinds of words after six-plus quarters, imagine what he could do with a whole season. All-Drews? Heisman Trophy? ``I'm not really worried about all that,'' Stewart said. ``I'm just worried about staying healthy and trying to help my team win as many games as possible.''
