Newbern is a solid linebacker/rush end prospect that we have evaluated for the last few seasons. Junior year was a good one for Newbern, and he ended up with 80 tackles and 13 sacks. He’s a solid athlete with good weight-lifting numbers, definitely in the top percentile in his recruiting class. The 2023 recruit shows very good acceleration to the football. He hits top speed so fast that the OL cannot react. Newbern also can play in coverage though, and there are several plays where he goes man to man; in one case 40-50 yards downfield sticking right with the receiver. That’s really impressive and shows the athleticism of the 2023 recruit. He is one of the more versatile defenders in this recruiting class athletically speaking, but we still would like to see more film of him just dropping back in zone coverage. We like Newbern’s work ethic above all else. He really works hard during the offseason and has continued to get better each season. His ability to apply pass pressure during his junior year was really impressive. He’s a bit undersized for the edge, and wonder how he would look playing more in the middle of the field, but either way, we think his speed/hustle to the football is D1 caliber. The 2023 recruit has put on good weight over the last year going from 205 to 220. There is no reason to assume he cannot play around 235-245 at the college level, depending on how he develops skill-wise.
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