College career

Newsome originally committed to Michigan

Michigan Wolverines football

The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

 during his junior year of high school, but later decommitted during his senior year to take Penn State's

Penn State Nittany Lions football

The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...

 scholarship offer. Before taking Penn State's offer, he had received 16 scholarship offers including ones from Boston College

Boston College Eagles football

The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...

, North Carolina

North Carolina Tar Heels football

The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in collegiate level football. In Carolina’s first 121 seasons of football competition, the Tar Heels have compiled a record of 646–488–54, a winning percentage of .566...

, Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes football

The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...

, Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Hokies football

The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a college football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have more wins in team history than any other program in the ACC. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium which seats over...

 and West Virginia

West Virginia Mountaineers football

The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...

.

2009 season

Newsome enrolled in January 2009 so he could get prepared for the academic and athletic severity before camp began. He took part in winter conditioning and spring practice before the 2009 season

2009 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 2009 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the 2009 college football season. The team is coached by Joe Paterno and plays its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State had the highest graduation rate among all of...

 began, in order to try to become the top backup to starter Daryll Clark

Daryll Clark

Daryll Lawrence Clark is a football quarterback who is currently a member of the Chicago Rush. He was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League as an free agent in 2010. He played collegiately for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He is the Nittany Lions' all-time leader in...

. In the Blue-White scrimmage on April 25, Newsome played for both teams and went 9-of-13 for 71 yards, and threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 Brett Brackett

Brett Brackett

Brett Brackett is an American football tight end who is currently a practice squad member for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2011...

.

In his Nittany Lion debut against Akron

2009 Akron Zips football team

The 2009 University of Akron Zips football team represented The University of Akron in the college football season of 2009. They competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football during the football season. Akron competed as a member of...

 at home on September 5, Newsome went 3-for-4 and threw for 26 yards. He rushed for 12 yards on two carries. Against Syracuse, he fumbled the ball on a sack, which gave the Orange their only points (against Nittany Lion reserves), but recovered from that mistake to lead the Nittany Lions into the red zone, at which point he was relieved by third-stringer Matt McGloin, who had his first taste of playing time. Against Temple, he played the final two drives, but little else, and he ran for a first down to kill the clock versus Illinois. Against Eastern Illinois

Eastern Illinois Panthers

The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the men's and women's athletic teams representing Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. Eastern Illinois University's colors are blue and gray. Eastern Illinois sports teams, except for men's soccer and swimming teams, participate in NCAA Division I in...

 on October 10, Newsome passed for 34 yards on four completions. He rushed for 49 yards on seven carries and scored his first career touchdown to put Penn State up 52-3. He led Penn State to a second drive into the red zone late in the 4th quarter before being relieved by Matt McGloin. Against Minnesota, he handed the ball off a few times, but saw little action elsewhere. Against Northwestern, after the Nittany Lions had put the game away 34-13 early in the fourth quarter, Newsome nearly led them to another scoring drive, but were forced to punt. He also saw this degree of playing time against Indiana, after the Hoosiers had scored a meaningless touchdown to make it a respectable 31-20 game. Against Michigan State

2009 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 2009 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of the Michigan State University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Spartans were coached by Mark Dantonio, who was in his third season with the Spartans...

, he scored his second career touchdown to give Penn State a 42-7 lead over Alamo Bowl bound Spartans and score his first touchdown against an FBS team and against a Big Ten team, following Michigan State's touchdown pass to Keshawn Martin against reserves, he was relieved by Matt McGloin

Matt McGloin

Matthew James "Matt" McGloin is an American football quarterback for Penn State University He is the first former walk-on quarterback to start at Penn State since scholarships were reinstated in 1949...

.

In 2009, Newsome went 8-for-11 for 66 yards, with a completion percentage of 72.7%. He rushed for 95 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdown. He averaged 4.75 yards per carry. He was one of only eight true freshmen to play for Penn State in 2009. He played in every game of the 2009 season at least once except for the Iowa and Ohio State losses and the 19-17 Capital One Bowl victory against LSU, although most of those games were spent handing off the ball in the last two minutes.

2010 season

Following Daryll Clark's graduation, Newsome was expected to compete with Matt McGloin and freshman Robert Bolden for the starting quarterback job. In the Blue-White game on April 24, Newsome went 5-for-12 for 50 yards and took three sacks.

In the first preseason depth chart, Newsome was listed as the co-starter at quarterback with McGloin, however, coach Joe Paterno

Joe Paterno

Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...

 named Bolden as the starter for the season-opener against Youngstown State University

Youngstown State University

Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...

 over Newsome and McGloin. On the official depth chart, Newsome, Bolden and McGloin were all listed as co-starters. Newsome had three carries for 21 yards and a touchdown after he entered the game in the fourth quarter. He only attempted one pass in that game, but it drew a pass interference

Pass interference

In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference is a penalty that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, pulling, or cutting in front of the receiver or...

 flag from the defense, he was relieved by McGloin on the final drive, who handed the ball off to Curtis Dukes. Newsome had some playing time in the 24-3 loss to Alabama

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 118th overall season, 78th as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 19th within the SEC Western Division...

 where he completed one pass for 12 yards in an attempt to further cut into the 24-3 Alabama lead. He also saw some playing time against Kent State

2010 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

The 2010 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Flashes, led by seventh-year head coach Doug Martin, compete in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference and played their home games at Dix...

 (one-of-three for three yards), Temple

2010 Temple Owls football team

The 2010 Temple Owls football team represented Temple University during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls, led by fourth-year head coach Al Golden, compete in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference and played their home games at Lincoln Financial Field...

 (handed off the ball on the final drive), and very nearly led late touchdown drives against Iowa (two-for-four for 35 yards) and Illinois (2-5 for 28 yards), as well as sharing co-starter time with McGloin against Minnesota

2010 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2010 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2010 college football season. The Golden Gophers are members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were led by fourth-year head coach Tim Brewster until his...

 after Bolden suffered a concussion in the first half, attempting no passes but leading Penn State to a field goal to answer a Minnesota score to restore a two point lead in an eventual 33-21 romp where Penn State once held a 33-14 lead. By the end of the season, Newsome was behind McGloin, the new starter, and Bolden on the depth chart.

For the season, Newsome went 6-for-13 for 78 yards and had 13 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. It was reported on December 9, 2010 that Newsome planned to transfer from Penn State following the season due to a low amount of playing time during the season. Paterno said about Newsome's possible transfer, "We think he's a fine prospect. Having said that, at this stage, he's not quite as far along as the others." Newsome did not make the trip to Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

 for the team's Outback Bowl

Outback Bowl

The Outback Bowl is an annual New Year's Day college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The event was originally called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1994 until being renamed in 1995 for its new title sponsor, Outback Steakhouse...

 appearance against Florida

2010 Florida Gators football team

The 2010 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2010 college football season...

 on January 1, 2011. However, Newsome enrolled in classes for the spring, and decided to stay with the team.

2011 season

With a possible transfer still looming, Newsome ran the second-string offense with redshirt freshman Paul Jones during spring practice, behind first-stringers Bolden and McGloin. Coach Paterno commented that Newsome has "got to do a little better job in the classroom. He's a bright kid, but he has a tendency once in a while to not pay attention to the academic part of it. Until he does, I'm not going to count on him." In the Blue−White game on April 16, 2011, Newsome went 3-for-7 for 22 yards and Paterno said Newsome was third on the depth chart. Newsome was expected to compete with Jones for the third-string quarterback position before the 2011 season, but after Jones was declared academically ineligible for the season on July 29, Newsome's competition remained Shane McGregor for the number three quarterback job. However, on August 4, Newsome left Penn State and sought a transfer.

Statistics

Source:

				Passing								Rushing
Season	Team											Yds	TD
2009 2009 Penn State Nittany Lions football team The 2009 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the 2009 college football season. The team is coached by Joe Paterno and plays its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State had the highest graduation rate among all of...	Penn State Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...	9		123.13	8	11	72.7	66	0	0		20	95	2
2010 2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team The 2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were members of the Big Ten Conference...	Penn State Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...	6		96.55	6	13	46.2	78	0	0		14	59	1

Personal

Newsome's parents are Kevin and Theresa Newsome. He has a younger brother, Keevon. His father played college football at Saint Paul's College

Saint Paul's College, Virginia

Saint Paul's College is a private, historically black college located in Lawrenceville, Virginia. The college is a four-year, private, co-ed, liberal arts institute affiliated with the Episcopal Church.-Campus:...

 as a running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

. He is currently undecided as to which major he would like to pursue at Penn State, although he would like to become a sports agent. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Nu Chapter.

External links

• Penn State football bio