Steward attended Flagler Palm Coast High School. As a junior, he was the starting quarterback and received All-conference honors. As a senior, he received All-conference and All-state honors.[1]
College career
He accepted a football scholarship from Lenoir-Rhyne College. As a freshman, he was converted into a wide receiver and was named a starter, collecting 29 receptions for 434 yards.
As a sophomore in 1984, he led the NAIA with 1,040 receiving yards, while also making 65 catches.[2][3] He had 8 receptions for 179 yards against Guilford College. As a junior in 1985, he posted 75 receptions for 1,052 yards.
As a senior, he broke his own school single-season record, registering 78 receptions for 1,105 receiving yards. He set a Conference and school single-game records with 18 receptions for 266 yards against Mars Hill College.[4][5] He also made 9 receptions for 180 yards against Davidson College.
At the time, he finished his college career with 247 receptions (school record and 3rd in NAIA history), 3,631 receiving yards (school record and 1st in NAIA history) and 18 receiving touchdowns (second in school history).[6]
In 1998, he was inducted into the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame.[7] In 2001, he was inducted into the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame.[8]
After the NFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the 1987 season, Steward was re-signed to be a part of the Dallas Cowboys replacement team.[11][12] He was a third-string wide receiver in the first 2 replacement games. He suffered a knee injury while practicing for the third game and chose to rehabilitate instead of surgery. In October, he was placed on the injured reserve list and was not re-signed at the end of the season.[13]
References
^"Football Standout Hopes For Professional Career". The Charlotte Observer. December 10, 1986. p. 10.