Tony Steward (born September 19, 1992) is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football at Clemson. Steward was considered one of the best linebacker prospects in his class,^[1] and earned the 2010 high school version of the Dick Butkus Award.^[2]

A native of Hastings, Florida, Steward attended Pedro Menendez High School in St. Augustine, Florida, where he was coached by Keith Cromwell. On mediocre 5–6 and 5–7 teams, respectively, in his junior and senior years, Steward was an all-state selection at linebacker. As a senior, he had 81 tackles and five sacks and scored 10 touchdowns on offense. Following his senior year, he received a nomination to the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.^[3]

Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Steward was ranked as the No. 1 outside linebacker prospect in his class.^[4] Recruited by virtually every school in the country, he took official visits to UCLA, Clemson University, and Florida State. On National Signing Day 2011, Steward announced his decision to attend Clemson University.^[5]

As a true freshman at Clemson University, Steward played a back-up role and had five tackles in 36 snaps over five games. On October 18, 2011, he tore an ACL in practice and would miss the rest of the season.^[6][7]

In 2012, Steward returned from injury and was a back-up to senior Jonathan Willard at weakside linebacker, and saw action on special teams. Appearing in all 13 games, Steward had 26 tackles, 16 of which were unassisted.

Steward was born in Hastings, Florida.^[16] He became engaged to his college sweetheart, Brittany Burns, in December 2015. However, Burns died of ovarian cancer in February 2016.^[17]