After a standout true freshman season, USC defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart has yet to make his 2026 debut. And from what Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley is now saying, that could be a little further away than previously expected.

Following USC's Week 2 win vs. Louisiana, Riley said that Stewart, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound sophomore out of Louisiana, was “close” to being ready to go after offseason foot surgery. In fact, Riley said at the time that Stewart could have and, provided it was more competitive, would have played against Louisiana.

Despite those comments and Riley saying he expected Stewart to be a “full participant” in practice the following week ahead of USC's road trip to play Rutgers, Stewart was not a full participant in practice and he was ruled out two days before the Rutgers game.

Riley, while speaking with the media Tuesday, explained Stewart's status and claimed that the sophomore had not suffered a setback.

“We were planning on playing him a little bit against Louisiana provided the warm-up went perfect. It didn't go bad; it just didn't go perfect, and he just wasn't quite ready, so we made a decision to pull him back a little bit. And obviously, he wasn't quite ready last week,” Riley said. “So he's continuing to rest, continuing to get healthier. We do feel like we're gonna have him here at some point. But it's a little bit just kind of touch and go as that goes on. … We're trying to manage enough time to rest but also not being too conservative with it. We're definitely making progress. He's definitely getting better and better each week, and hopefully we're not too far away.”

Lincoln Riley on the status of sophomore DL Jahkeem Stewart, who is dealing w/ a foot injury:

“We do feel like we’re going to have him here at some point. But it’s a little bit kind of touch and go as that goes on.”

He said Stewart is “hopefully not too far away.” pic.twitter.com/ShKawJpQH0

— Ryan Kartje (@RyanKartje) September 23, 2026

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As an 18-year-old true freshman and while playing through a stress fracture in his foot, Stewart played 11 games, recording 18 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, and one interception.

No. 12 USC (4-0, 1-0 in Big Ten) welcomes 20th-ranked Oregon to the Coliseum this Saturday. The Ducks are coming off an 84-0 win vs. Portland State, which came six days after a stunning defeat to unranked Oklahoma State.

The Trojans have lost each of their last four and nine of their last 12 meetings with Oregon.