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Brugler's scouting report on him. #3 CB and #18 overall
3. GREG NEWSOME II | Northwestern 6000 | 192 lbs. | JR. Chicago, Ill. (IMG Academy) 5/18/2000 (age 20.95) #2
BACKGROUND: Gregory “Greg” Newsome II grew up on the south side of Chicago with his focus on basketball and AAU tournaments before switching to football in middle school. He moved to Carol Stream (30 miles west of Chicago) and enrolled at Glenbard North High School where he lettered in basketball, track and football, playing defensive back and wide receiver. After a year on the freshman team, he earned First Team All-Conference as a sophomore with 40 tackles and a team-best six interceptions. Newsome again earned All-Conference honors as a junior, finishing with 85 tackles, 18 passes defended and three interceptions, adding 224 receiving yards and four touchdowns on offense. He transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his senior season, finishing with 15 tackles, 17 passes defended and two interceptions in 2017. In track, Newsome clocked personal-bests in the 100 meters (11.05) and 200 meters (22.86).
A three-star cornerback recruit out of high school, Newsome was the No. 62 ranked cornerback in the class and the No. 107 ranked recruit in the state of Florida. He considered offers from Arkansas, Iowa, Virginia Tech and others, but decided to stay closer to home, signing with Northwestern and enrolling in January 2018. Newsome elected to skip his senior season and enter the 2021 NFL Draft. He became the first Northwestern true junior to declare for the NFL Draft after three years since Darnell Autry in 1996.
YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT NOTES
2018: (6/4) 23 0.0 0.0 0 4 0 Missed eight games due to injury
2019: (9/8) 36 0.5 0.0 0 11 0 Led team in PD; Missed three games due to injury
2020: (6/6) 12 0.0 0.0 0 10 1 First Team All-Big Ten; Led Big Ten in PD; Missed three games due to injury
Total: (21/18) 71 0.5 0.0 0 25 1
HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
6000 192 31 1/8 8 7/8 73 3/4 4.38 2.53 1.50 40 10’3” 4.26 6.90 18
STRENGTHS: Balanced athlete with nimble feet and the lower body muscles to spring in any direction…fluid hip turn to stay under control and in phase…matches receivers off the line and out of breaks…pedal quickness to collect-and-close…heightened cover awareness with NFL eyes to map receivers up and down the field…high football IQ…has a knack for finding passing lanes…plays through the hands of receivers to create incompletions…calms his feet downhill to square up ball carriers as a tackler and get them on the ground…takes it personally when completions happen and the coaches praise his competitive confidence (Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald: “He’s got a short memory and a quick fuse”)…zero touchdowns allowed in 2020…got his hands on a lot of passes in college with 25 passes defended in only 21 games played.
WEAKNESSES: Wiry body type with lean, stringy muscle tone…average play strength and needs to continue and get stronger…will struggle to shed blocks and can be jostled from his path by physical wide receivers…will find his hips turned prematurely, biting on double-moves and getting himself turned around…grabby tendencies and flags will follow…only one interception in his career and needs to turn the break-ups into turnovers…lack of size leads to durability concerns…missed at least three games each of his three collegiate seasons due to nagging injuries, including a groin issue as a junior (December 2020).
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Northwestern, Newsome was the left cornerback in former defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz’s man/zone scheme, lining up primarily from off-coverage. After leading the team in passes defended (11) as a sophomore, he was No. 1 in the Big Ten in passes defended (10) as a junior and led the FBS in passer rating against (15.77) — of the 10 completions he allowed in 2020, only one was 10-plus yards downfield. With his agile footwork and anticipation, Newsome attaches himself to receivers and stays under control in coverage. He has terrific eyes to sort and make plays, but he needs to turn the pass break-ups into interceptions. Overall, Newsome comes with durability concerns, especially against the rigors of the NFL, but he is a route magnet with fluid transitions and natural instincts. He projects as a press-man NFL starter as a rookie.
GRADE: 1st Round (No. 18 overall)
3. GREG NEWSOME II | Northwestern 6000 | 192 lbs. | JR. Chicago, Ill. (IMG Academy) 5/18/2000 (age 20.95) #2
BACKGROUND: Gregory “Greg” Newsome II grew up on the south side of Chicago with his focus on basketball and AAU tournaments before switching to football in middle school. He moved to Carol Stream (30 miles west of Chicago) and enrolled at Glenbard North High School where he lettered in basketball, track and football, playing defensive back and wide receiver. After a year on the freshman team, he earned First Team All-Conference as a sophomore with 40 tackles and a team-best six interceptions. Newsome again earned All-Conference honors as a junior, finishing with 85 tackles, 18 passes defended and three interceptions, adding 224 receiving yards and four touchdowns on offense. He transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his senior season, finishing with 15 tackles, 17 passes defended and two interceptions in 2017. In track, Newsome clocked personal-bests in the 100 meters (11.05) and 200 meters (22.86).
A three-star cornerback recruit out of high school, Newsome was the No. 62 ranked cornerback in the class and the No. 107 ranked recruit in the state of Florida. He considered offers from Arkansas, Iowa, Virginia Tech and others, but decided to stay closer to home, signing with Northwestern and enrolling in January 2018. Newsome elected to skip his senior season and enter the 2021 NFL Draft. He became the first Northwestern true junior to declare for the NFL Draft after three years since Darnell Autry in 1996.
YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT NOTES
2018: (6/4) 23 0.0 0.0 0 4 0 Missed eight games due to injury
2019: (9/8) 36 0.5 0.0 0 11 0 Led team in PD; Missed three games due to injury
2020: (6/6) 12 0.0 0.0 0 10 1 First Team All-Big Ten; Led Big Ten in PD; Missed three games due to injury
Total: (21/18) 71 0.5 0.0 0 25 1
HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
6000 192 31 1/8 8 7/8 73 3/4 4.38 2.53 1.50 40 10’3” 4.26 6.90 18
STRENGTHS: Balanced athlete with nimble feet and the lower body muscles to spring in any direction…fluid hip turn to stay under control and in phase…matches receivers off the line and out of breaks…pedal quickness to collect-and-close…heightened cover awareness with NFL eyes to map receivers up and down the field…high football IQ…has a knack for finding passing lanes…plays through the hands of receivers to create incompletions…calms his feet downhill to square up ball carriers as a tackler and get them on the ground…takes it personally when completions happen and the coaches praise his competitive confidence (Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald: “He’s got a short memory and a quick fuse”)…zero touchdowns allowed in 2020…got his hands on a lot of passes in college with 25 passes defended in only 21 games played.
WEAKNESSES: Wiry body type with lean, stringy muscle tone…average play strength and needs to continue and get stronger…will struggle to shed blocks and can be jostled from his path by physical wide receivers…will find his hips turned prematurely, biting on double-moves and getting himself turned around…grabby tendencies and flags will follow…only one interception in his career and needs to turn the break-ups into turnovers…lack of size leads to durability concerns…missed at least three games each of his three collegiate seasons due to nagging injuries, including a groin issue as a junior (December 2020).
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Northwestern, Newsome was the left cornerback in former defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz’s man/zone scheme, lining up primarily from off-coverage. After leading the team in passes defended (11) as a sophomore, he was No. 1 in the Big Ten in passes defended (10) as a junior and led the FBS in passer rating against (15.77) — of the 10 completions he allowed in 2020, only one was 10-plus yards downfield. With his agile footwork and anticipation, Newsome attaches himself to receivers and stays under control in coverage. He has terrific eyes to sort and make plays, but he needs to turn the pass break-ups into interceptions. Overall, Newsome comes with durability concerns, especially against the rigors of the NFL, but he is a route magnet with fluid transitions and natural instincts. He projects as a press-man NFL starter as a rookie.
GRADE: 1st Round (No. 18 overall)