Daleroy Andrew Stewart (born November 1, 1978) is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys,

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

and San Francisco 49ers. He was also a member of the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Early years

Stewart attended

Vero Beach High School Vero Beach High School (VBHS) is a 9–12 public high school in Vero Beach, Florida, United States that was established in 1925. The school is operated by the Indian River County School District. The campus of VBHS encompasses approximately , w ...

, where as a senior he made 95 tackles (13 for loss) and 7 sacks, while receiving All-state honors. He was invited to play in the Georgia/Florida High School All-Star Game. He also practiced the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and discus throw. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Southern Mississippi. As a freshman, he appeared in 8 games as a reserve defensive lineman. The next year he was limited with an ankle injury and made 26 tackles. As a junior, he began the season as the backup to John Nix, until being moved into the starting lineup in the third game against the University of Nebraska, after Nix suffered a toe injury during the first games. He would end up being a key player, posting 47 tackles (11 for loss), while helping his team win the

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

championship with a 9–3 record and a 23–17 win over

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

in the

1999 Liberty Bowl The 1999 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game played on December 31, 1999, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The 41st edition of the Liberty Bowl matched the Colorado State Rams and the Southern Miss Gold ...

. As a senior, he was a part of a unit that ranked second in the nation in total defense. He appeared in 11 games (2 starts), registering 38 tackles (8 for loss) and 4 sacks. He finished his college career with 121 tackles (59 solo), 7 sacks and 23 tackles for loss.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Stewart was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (171st overall) of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

, after dropping because he injured his rotator cuff while playing in the Senior Bowl. He was placed in the reserve/non-football injury list on August 28. His rehab was complicated by a bulging disk he suffered in his back and was never activated from the non-football-related injury list in his rookie season. In his second year he was tried at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

and defensive end, but was never active for any of the games. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, with the arrival of new head coach Bill Parcells and the change to a 3-4 defense, he was moved to nose tackle and became a part of the defensive line rotation, making 17 tackles (4 for loss) and 1.7 sacks. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, even though there was excitement about his progress as a football player, he ended up being waived on September 14.

New York Jets

On September 16,

, Stewart was claimed off waivers by the

to replace an injured Josh Evans. He was released eight days later on September 24.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 27,

, he was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco 49ers. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season, after playing in nine games and being declared inactive in four.

Houston Texans

On April 20,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he was signed as a free agent by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. After being limited with injuries (knee, hamstring) in training camp, he was cut on August 16.

Dallas Desperados (AFL)

On October 17,

, he signed with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League, who were owned by Jerry Jones, who also owned the Dallas Cowboys. He played three seasons until the team folded on August 4,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, upon the dissolving of the original AFL.

References

External links

Former DT Stewart Catching On With Desperados
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Daleroy 1978 births Living people People from Vero Beach, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football defensive tackles Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Dallas Cowboys players New York Jets players San Francisco 49ers players Dallas Desperados players Vero Beach High School alumni