INDIANAPOLIS — Shemar Stewart is not particularly gregarious. He gives the sense of being just as happy to spend his time alone, and despite playing a position that has trended showy in recent years, he keeps his flash to a minimum. When asked a question, he answers directly, no time for frivolous exposition. Such as when he was asked ahead of the combine if he planed on doing all of the on field workouts.

"Of course," he scoffed, before nodding his head for the next question, no other explanation needed.

The attention Stewart drew at the Senior Bowl, which doubled at the combine, was not there because he demanded it. He merely draws it, with a confidence that stands out even in a room of the most confident in the sport. A self-assuredness, born of making it farther than life seemed destined to allow.

"As long as you work, you can get whatever you want out of this game," Stewart shared of his motto. "Just don't shortcut the game."

Stewart is a South Florida native who grew up in Miramar, a Miami-bedroom community. The area is a hotbed for football superstars; the sun, the sand, and the endless summer turn out some of the biggest names in the football world.

"People see my weight and size and see like, oh, I'm probably not fast, but growing up in South Florida gets the fastest competition you can find," said Stewart.

Even with natural talent bubbling out of the numerous Florida springs, it is also an area that showcases the stark differences in socioeconomic classes. Shemar Stewart lived it.

"I came from nothing," Stewart shared in a tone that in no way asked for pity, just stated a fact of the matter. "I've never been the person to not be humble. I've been humbled a lot of times, so I remain humble no matter where I get in life."

When Stewart was 8 years old, he joined Miramar's Optimist League, a pee-wee team. Coaches placed him at tackle. There was only one problem. Stewart had no idea what to do. And not in the sense of being 8 years old and not understanding the nuances of a B-gap. He had never actually seen the game of football played out before.

"I didn't have cable," Stewart recalled, which means he just did "whatever coach told me to do."

The initial result?

"I was terrible. I was horrible. I had two left hands," the normally impermeable Stewart guffawed, bending over in laughter. "I couldn't do nothing. I couldn't block…I sucked. I was just terrible. I didn't know, I didn't understand football."

While Stewart might not have understood football mentally at that point, it was clear he had an instinctual, innate ability to play the game. His dad immediately noticed and encouraged Shemar to see where the sport could take him. Then, two very important changes came about in Stewart's life.

The first was in eighth grade. He started hanging out at a friend's house that had Madden and cable. He watched JJ Watt play football for the first time and began to take note of what impeccable defensive play looked like.

The second was right after his freshman season. He was still incredibly raw, unsure of himself, and relying on nothing but natural athleticism. But that year, he met Moe Marquez, the defensive line coach at Monsignor Pace High School.

"My father figure because he taught me how to be a man, how to talk to people, how to treat people with respect and how to just protect the ones you love," Stewart praised of his mentor. "He gave me so much wisdom throughout the recruitment process, and he's definitely the guy I go to if I'm ever in any trouble."

Together, the duo molded Stewart into the nation's No. 1 edge rusher in the 2022 recruiting class. It was the first time Stewart truly believed in what he could become.

"I had a great freshman year, and I went to some camps and did some things, but number one in the nation was kind of mind-blowing to me," Stewart admitted, looking back on the journey to college as he begins his journey to the NFL.

As Stewart became more familiar with the game, he focused on Myles Garrett (someone who has become a comp for Stewart in the draft process).

"His speed rip, it's just so effortless," Stewart praised. "The way he gets, how low he gets, the power to just get out of that bend. So if there's one (move) I wish I could steal, it's definitely that one right there."

As a 17-year-old he also stumbled upon old Julius Peppers highlights on YouTube.

"I feel like my body and our athletic ability are pretty similar. I'm not going to say I'm up there with him because he's definitely a Hall of Famer, but it's pretty similar in my mind."

But this is still the kid who grew up admiring JJ Watt.

"I will take my hand in the ground. I feel like I get a faster get off."

Stewart is an intriguing prospect. He's 6-5, towering over his counterparts. He was 290 while in college, slimmed down to 280 by the time he made it to Mobile for the Senior Bowl, and weighed in at 267 in Indianapolis, inching closer to a pass-rushing frame. While at the Combine this week, Stewart dominated the testing, grading out as elite in the measurables and skills tests. He finished with a 9.99 RAS (relative athletic score) out of 10, which measures a players raw athletic ability. That included a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, and an explosive 40-inch vertical jump. At 267 pounds.

The 9.99 RAS ranks Stewart third all time out of a possible 1,802 defensive ends measured since 1987.

More than his height and weight, though, Stewart's production numbers will understandably stand out as teams such as teams are debating how much draft capital they want to spend.

During three years with the Aggies, Stewart accumulated 65 total tackles, four passes defended...and only 4.5 sacks.

"I wasn't a sack-chasing warrior. I just wanted to become the best player for my team and sometimes the stats don't show that," Stewart offered. "Sometimes I had to play dead to rights and sometimes I just couldn't finish or couldn't just get there in time. But also teams was not going to sit there and pat the ball against us. We had a stacked D-line. Everybody knew better than just sit there and pat the ball against us."

After finishing tied for the third-worst sack numbers in the league last season (32 total), it is no secret the Panthers are looking for pass-rushers who get to the quarterback. The club is also looking to shore up their run defense, which finished as a league worst as well, something Stewart knows he can help with right away.

"If you can't run defend, you can't pass rush, so if you just want to be a pass rusher, but you can't run defend, how you going to get on the field," Stewart posed.

So is Stewart, with his high floor and unknown ceiling, one of those possibilities to come in and help? It remains to be seen and what will make the pre-draft process, the future potential, and a team's own interpretation of the tape so vital.

Because Stewart is a physical specimen, but the average of 1.5 sacks a year has become a talking point. And he is tired of the narrative.

"It actually blows my mind, people that think I can't pass-rush," an impassioned Stewart began to preach. "They see my low sack numbers and think, 'Oh, he just (expletive) sucks.' And that's not the case. There's a lot of things that can happen between the start of a play and the end of a play.

"You just got to watch it for yourself, see the way I'm playing. People with low sack numbers don't get no love out here…I just gotta put the league on notice."

There is a good chance for him to do just that. As NFL Network's Lance Zierlein noted in Stewart's draft profile, the defensive lineman's "traits, versatility, and upside make his development a matter of when and not if."

The majority of the NFL world descended on Indianapolis last week, casting critical eyes over every prospect. Now February has bled into March when Pro Days will dominate the calendar (the Aggies will be March 27), visits will start, and the calendar will quickly flip to April, leading into the draft. Once there, Stewart is unsure what will happen, only what he's dreamed of happening.

"I wanted to be a first-round pick before I knew what a first-round pick was," said Stewart. "But I don't really chase that. I chase being better at the game of football."

For the kid who came from nothing, the chance of having everything is heady. But he has spent his life trying to outrun those around him just to catch up, and there's no way he's slowing down now.

"At the end of the day in the league, people are getting better by the day. Either you're working with them, or you're sleeping, and they're going to pass you up, so that's my mindset. I always want to be better, no matter how good I do the year before," said Stewart.

"My feeling is if I keep working I could potentially be a Hall of Famer one day. I feel like nobody's going to stop me but me. It's all on me at the end of the day."