A pair of former Bloomington North football standouts have landed after a whirlwind trip through college football’s transfer portal.
There’s plenty to look forward to for redshirt freshman tight end Aidan Steinfeldt, who is heading to FCS power Richmond with four years of eligibility after his one-year stay at Marshall.
For defensive lineman Race Stewart, there was no wiggle room. He had to get it just right with only one year of playing time left. He’ll graduate this week from Indiana and then move to Western Michigan.
Playing time was the motivating factor for both former Cougars.
Richmond went 10-3 last year, falling in the first round of the playoffs. This year’s Spiders schedule will include a trip to North Carolina, where Bill Belichick is the new head coach.
“The process was good,” Steinfeldt said. “I talked to a lot of schools and it really came down to where I thought I could play. I wanted to get on the field and Richmond needed someone to come in and play right away.”
The school was a good fit as a business/finance major and the program was as well. The Spiders have won at least nine games and made the playoffs the past three seasons under head coach Russ Huesman.
“They’re a team that uses its tight ends,” Steinfeldt said. “They run a lot of 12 personnel. There’s always a tight end on the field. And I had a good connection with the head coach. He recruited me pretty hard.”
Ditto for Stewart when it came to the Broncos, who will play at two Big Ten venues next year, Michigan State and Illinois. April and May have been busy times for Stewart as he worked to wrap up his schoolwork at IU while searching for a new football home.
“When I first hit the portal, there was a lot of activity,” Stewart said. “A lot of talking and decisions I had to make in a quick amount of time. I narrowed it down over the phone and went on some visits.
“Western Michigan just felt right. It’s a newer coaching staff and they all have great backgrounds and they have a great scheme. They had a plan for me when I came up there and presented that plan and I believe that it will work.”
Stewart will mostly lineup in the middle of the line, but will get some opportunities to play some end.
“They’ll try to use me in multiple ways,” Stewart said. “More than was used before. But the scheme is similar to IU’s so it’s not something completely new, which is a nice thing.”
For now, he’s more worried about making sure everything is shored up for graduation and isn’t sure yet what approach he’ll take as far as classes at WMU. In any case, both are thrilled to be done with the portal.
“I’m very happy to put an end to this process,” Steinfeldt said. “It’s a crazy world in college football. I’m glad to be done and have my spot and start working toward getting on the field.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Former North football standouts Steinfeldt, Stewart find homes in college transfer portal
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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