Sidney Stewart put together the kind of afternoon that makes a defense feel dangerous, even in a game that went sideways for Maryland.
Against No. 5 Ohio State, the Maryland edge defender posted an elite 90.4 Pro Football Focus grade, the highest level of defensive evaluation in the source material and one of the strongest marks anywhere in the country in Week 6. He backed it up with eight tackles, four pressures, one sack, and a forced fumble in a 45-16 loss, showing he could still wreck a game even with Maryland stuck on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
That mattered because the Terps needed every bit of resistance they could get. Maryland’s offense managed just 146 total yards in the defeat, and the loss dropped the team to 2-4.
The defense spent long stretches on the field, but Stewart kept flashing anyway. His production didn’t depend on flow or circumstance.
He kept winning his snaps, kept collapsing plays, and kept forcing Ohio State to account for him off the edge.
The grades told the same story. Stewart finished as Maryland’s highest-rated regular contributor by a wide margin, pairing that 90.4 overall defensive grade with a 92.8 pass-rush mark.
That kind of number doesn’t happen by accident. It reflects a player who is consistently getting into the backfield and making offenses feel him snap after snap.
Sid made his presence felt 😤 pic.twitter.com/QaI40adRbM
Through six games of 2026, Stewart’s rise has been steady. He was quiet in the opener against Hampton, then broke through at UConn with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a seven-yard sack, and a forced fumble. He followed that with two tackles against Virginia Tech and three more versus UCLA, then added four tackles at Nebraska along with another quarterback hurry before his breakout showing at Ohio State.
The full season line is starting to pop: 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, 12 yards lost on sacks, and two forced fumbles. Among Maryland defenders, he ranks third in tackles behind Daniel Wingate and Carlton Smith, and he’s tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with Zion Elee at 3.5.
That blend of consistency and disruption is what makes Stewart stand out. He’s making stops, creating negative plays, and getting into the backfield at a rate nobody on the roster has matched.
For Maryland, that makes him more than a nice bright spot. It makes him one of the defense’s foundational pieces.
Now comes Rutgers, and the challenge shifts again. Maryland will lean on Stewart to be that same tone-setter up front against an offense that leans on physicality and ball control. If he keeps stacking the kind of reps he showed against Ohio State, his season is starting to look less like a hot stretch and more like a full-blown breakout.
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Tai Felton Just Gave Maryland Fans A New NFL Storyline
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For a program that takes pride in sending talent to the league, Feltons opportunity mattered because it showed how quickly a path can open for a young player when circumstances change. The Vikings are off in Week 6 with a 5-0 record, and when they return to action against the Indianapolis Colts, Feltons place in the rotation will be one of the more interesting Maryland-connected storylines to track. [Read more 🡒]