Former Cincinnati standout Walter Stewart joined the NIU coaching staff in February 2018 as defensive line coach.
Prior to NIU, Stewart spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons at Eastern Kentucky as the defensive line coach. In 2015, Stewart coached the defensive ends at Florida A&M. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant defensive line coach at Tennessee from 2013-2015.
At Eastern Kentucky, Stewart’s defensive line racked up 53 total sacks in his two seasons, including 21 in 2016 when the Colonels ranked 27
th in the FCS with 2.45 sacks per game and the team allowed the fewest passing touchdowns (12) since the 2005 season. In 2017, EKU ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in sacks. Two of his pupils earned first team all-conference players during his time at Eastern Kentucky.
At Tennessee, he helped coach a pair of All-SEC defensive linemen on the team that went on to play in the 2014 TaxSlayer Bowl.
In his playing career, Stewart was a defensive lineman at the University of Cincinnati for head coach Butch Jones. He earned the team’s most outstanding defensive lineman award his senior year in 2012 and was a two-time team captain. In his five years at Cincinnati, the Bearcats won four Big East Championships and made four bowl games, including the 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl and 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl.
"I'm really excited to have Walter on staff,” said NIU Head Coach Rod Carey in announcing Stewart’s addition to the staff. “With his pedigree, from playing at Cincinnati to his time as a GA at Tennessee and then coaching at EKU, the new ideas and designs he brings will help bring our d-line to the next level."
Stewart earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at Cincinnati in 2012.
He and his fiancé Rebecca Borukhovsky have a daughter, Niya.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
| 2018 |
NIU (Defensive Line) |
| 2016-17 |
Eastern Kentucky (Defensive Line) |
| 2015 |
Florida A&M (Defensive Ends) |
| 2013-15 |
Tennessee (Graduate Assistant – Defensive Line) |
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
| 2014 |
Tax Slayer Bowl (Tennessee, Coach) |
| 2012 |
Belk Bowl (Cincinnati, Player) |
| 2011 |
Liberty Bowl (Cincinnati, Player) |
| 2009 |
Sugar Bowl (Cincinnati, Player) |
| 2008 |
Orange Bowl (Cincinnati, Player) |
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
| 2008-12 |
Cincinnati (Defensive Lineman) |
EDUCATION
| College |
B.S., University of Cincinnati, 2012 |
| High School |
Teays Valley High School, Ashville, OH, 2008 |
PERSONAL
| Birthdate |
06/21/1990 |
| Hometown |
Youngstown, OH |
| Family |
Fianceé Rebecca Borukhovsky; daughter, Niya |
