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Panthers ink 1st Round pick Jonathan Stewart

Jul 26, 2008

Just hours before the Panthers held their first training camp practice, Carolina signed first-round draft choice (13th overall) Jonathan Stewart from Oregon. With Stewart's signing this morning and tackle Jeff Otah's signing last night, all nine of the team's draft choices are under contract.

"It's good to have both of the first rounders in, not only because it's good for them and the team but it eliminates all of the distractions. It's just a good way to start training camp," said Carolina Panthers General Manager Marty Hurney. "I think it's extremely important to have everybody signed, especially the rookies. Every day they miss just compounds how far the get behind, so I think it's extremely valuable to the rookies to be here on time."

Stewart joins veterans DeAngelo Williams, Nick Goings and Brad Hoover and 2008 unrestricted free agent acquisition LaBrandon Toefield in the backfield. He is also expected to work on kickoff returns.

A 5-foot-10 and 235-pound running back, Stewart compiled 2,891 rushing yards, which rank second in school history, and 4,889 all-purpose yards, which stand third in school history. Stewart, who entered the NFL Draft following his junior campaign, produced 14 career 100-yard rushing performances, including two 200-yard rushing efforts, and 27 rushing touchdowns.

He set a school record with a career kickoff return average of 28.69 yards on 58 returns for 1,664 yards and two touchdowns. During his freshman season in 2005, he became the first player in Oregon history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a single season.

As a junior in 2007, Stewart earned first-team All-Pac 10 Conference recognition after establishing a school single-season record with 1,722 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 280 carries. He also posted 145 receiving yards and 614 kickoff return yards to set a school single-season mark with 2,481 all-purpose yards.

Additionally, the Panthers have waived running back Alex Haynes and linebacker Brandon Jamison to reduce the roster to the 80-player limit for the start of training camp. Haynes played in nine games in 2007 and rushed for three yards on three attempts after spending the 2005 and 2006 campaigns on the team's practice squad. Jamison contributed seven special teams tackles in two seasons with Carolina.