Tony Steward Announcement: What It Means For Clemson Football

Tony Steward the No. 1 ranked inside linebacker in the nation has made his announcement: As shown live on ESPNU, Steward picked the Clemson Tigers over other contenders, including Florida State and UCLA.

Steward, a 6'1", 225-pound punisher out of Pedro Mendez High School in St. Augustine, Florida is a five-star prospect who will make an immediate impact.

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What Signing Steward Means To Clemson

Tony Steward (photo courtesy of Rivals)

Tony Steward brings strength and quickness with him to Clemson. He registered 142 tackles as a junior in 2009, with five sacks and two interceptions. He is extremely effective at creating havoc in the backfield due to his effectiveness of punishing ball carriers.

Steward brings with him 4.7 speed and a 31.5 inch vertical jump.  Steward is built like a body-builder, yet is still agile.

Steward will be a difference-maker from Day 1 on the Clemson campus; with some work on his run support game, Steward should be Clemson's inside linebacker for years to come.

What This Means To UCLA and Florida State

Tony Steward (photo courtesy of mendez sports.com)

Tony Steward's decision to attend Clemson leaves Florida State with no signed linebackers in the 2011 recruiting class and only two, Terrance Smith and Arrington Jenkins, verbals.

UCLA, who was a longshot in this whole process, has only one linebacker on the radar for 2011: Mike Orloff, who is yet unsigned.

Steward's commitment to Clemson might hurt both FSU and UCLA in the future as neither is deep at the linebacker position.