Welcome to the 2019 FCS Kickoff Jersey Countdown.
The regular season begins Saturday, Aug. 24 with Samford vs. Youngstown State in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff along with Villanova playing at Colgate.
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HERO Sports is going to count down each day by highlighting the best player in the FCS who wears the jersey number equal to the number of days until kickoff. You can find the running list of top players here.
*Note: Jersey numbers are from the 2018 season.
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81: Nathan Stewart, WR (Sr.) — Sam Houston State
Stewart has been a top receiver in the FCS since he put on a Bearkat uniform. And in the minds of Southland Conference defensive coaches, he's finally a senior.
Just look at his resume:
- 2016: Southland Conference Freshman of the Year; All-Southland Conference First Team; HERO Sports Freshman All-American
- 2017: HERO Sports, STATS and AP All-American; All-Southland First Team
- 2018: All-Southland Second Team
And get this, technically Stewart's junior season was a bit of a down year. Yet he still had 58 catches for 1,063 yards and five touchdowns. That was coming off a 2017 season where Stewart had 72 receptions for 1,648 yards and 14 TDs. He had 52 catches for 1,004 yards and 12 TDs as a freshman in 2016.
That's a total of 182 catches, 3,715 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Stewart is just the fourth player in FCS history to put up 1,000-yard receiving seasons as a freshman, sophomore and junior. It's scary to think about what he can do as a senior.
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NEXT: The Best Traditions in the FCS
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