It’s been a busy offseason for I’Marion Stewart.
The state’s seventh-ranked rising senior in the 247Sports composite rankings came off the recruiting board on June 16 when he committed to Michigan.
He’s also getting acquainted with his new teammates at Kenwood as arguably the area’s highest-profile transfer after spending his first three seasons at Bolingbrook.
And Stewart is getting ready to be a two-way starter for the Broncos after strictly playing offense for the Raiders.
“I love it,” he said of finishing his prep career in the city. “Kenwood is one of the best decisions I made in my life.”
And the future Big Ten receiver is eager to play cornerback for the Broncos as well. Stewart said he would have welcomed the double duty before, but jokingly mentioned retired Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow’s “old-school” philosophy of only using players on one side of the ball.
There’s no doubt about Stewart’s game-breaking ability on offense, according to Rivals analyst Clint Cosgrove.
“He’s just so dynamic,” Cosgrove said of the 6-1, 180-pounder. “He’s a polished route runner. He is like a Tyler Morris.”
Morris, a rising sophomore at Michigan who played at Nazareth, and his former Roadrunners teammate JJ McCarthy, the Wolverines’ rising junior quarterback, are a couple of Chicago-area stars who have preceded Stewart to Ann Arbor.
Stewart talked to Morris during the recruiting process and liked what he heard.
“I was able to get more information about how the receivers room is looking,” Stewart said.
Also, [wide receivers] coach [Ron] Bellamy had a great relationship with me and my family,” Stewart said.
All that was enough to make him comfortable to pick Michigan from the two dozen schools that offered scholarships, including six others in the Big Ten and five from the SEC.
Stewart, a four-star prospect, is part of the Wolverines’ 24-member class of 2024 that’s No. 3 overall behind Georgia and Ohio State in the 247Sports composite rankings.
During the recruiting process, Stewart also was able to lean on the experience of his older brother I’Shawn, who played for Oregon State and Eastern Michigan.
“Everything I know now and everything I do now is from my brother,” Stewart said.
Top 10 update
Six of the state’s top 10 rising senior prospects have committed so far: No. 2 receiver Cam Williams of Glenbard South (Notre Dame), No. 4 tight end Christian Betancur of Marian Central (Clemson), No. 6 tight end Grant Stec of Jacobs (Wisconsin), Stewart, No. 9 tight end Eric Karner of IC Catholic (Texas A&M) and No. 10 cornerback Austin Alexander of Marian Catholic (Kansas).
