After a strong week at the U.S. All-American Bowl before his freshman season in 2008, there was a strong belief that incoming defensive lineman Brandon Newman had a good chance of cracking the two deep, and having the same kind of rookie season that teammate Ian Williams did in 2007.
It never happened for the big fella out of Louisville, Kent. Despite the high expectations, Newman never cracked the lineup last season. And there’s no guarantee he’ll get a ton of time this season with a bevy of talented and young linemen fighting for time.
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It will be critical for Newman to find his way into the defensive line rotation as a sophomore.
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Newman, Ian Williams and Tyler Stockton are all trying to make their case for playing time, and all should get some this season. For Newman, the question is how much.
The potential is certainly there. The 6-foot-1, 310-pound Newman has the ideal build for a lane-clogging nose tackle, and his prep résumé is unreal. Newman was a complete menace in high school, recording 126 tackles, including a remarkable 31.5 for loss.
But as so often happens to high school hotshots, especially in the trenches, the talent and strength jump is so great in college, there is an acclimation period that Newman had to go through last season.
“It’s a lot faster,” Newman said. “Technique is the biggest thing. You can be physically stronger than somebody else, but you got to beat them with technique. That’s the only way to win, and that’s what I’m working on.”
Newman is not only a promising football player. He’s also a terrific student – National Honor Society in high school – and a bit of a leader, at least among the younger guys. Newman and classmates Braxton Cave and Dayne Crist were all instrumental in holding the recruiting class of 2008 together during a 3-9 season in 2007.
Expect Newman to find his place in the rotation this season, and have his chance to seize the opportunity and emerge like an Ian Williams. That’s the standard.
What’s a good season?
Like so many of the sophomores in the defensive line mix, simply finding and holding his spot in the rotation is a good place to start.
As stated earlier, Newman has the perfect build hold his own on the interior, he just needs to prove he is up to the challenge. It’s no secret that the development and play of this young defensive line unit will be a good measure of how the defense will do as a whole, and Newman is a key piece.
We said last year at this time that Newman had a good chance of becoming the next Williams in terms of immediate impact. We were obviously a year premature on that assessment, so maybe this is the season.
Williams recorded 45 tackles as a freshman. But with a rotation that will go fairly deep at defensive tackle this year, it’s unlikely Newman will reach that mark.
Earning his place, holding his ground, adding some depth to the d-line, and creating some of that high school havoc will get Newman about two tackles a game this season, and that will get him to about 25 stops this season.
Throw in a fumble recovery, and a sack or two, and that will be a nice season for a guy that could potentially do much more.
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