Jer'Zhan Newton

American football player (born 2002)

American football player
Jer'Zhan Newton
refer to caption
Newton with the Illinois Fighting Illini in 2022
No. 95 – Washington Commanders
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (2002-08-31) August 31, 2002 (age 21)
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:Clearwater Central Catholic (Clearwater, Florida)
College:Illinois (2020–2023)
NFL draft:2024 / Round: 2 / Pick: 36
Career history
  • Washington Commanders (2024–present)
Roster status:Unsigned draft pick
Career highlights and awards
Player stats at PFR

Jer'Zhan "Johnny" Newton (jer-ZAHN; born August 31, 2002) is an American football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, earning consensus All-American honors in 2023. Newton was selected by the Commanders in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Early life

Newton was born on August 31, 2002, in St. Petersburg, Florida.[1] He attended Clearwater Central Catholic High School in Clearwater, Florida. During his career, he had 244 tackles and 24 sacks. He originally committed to play college football for the Maryland Terrapins before switching to the Illinois Fighting Illini at the University of Illinois.[2][3]

College career

As a true freshman for the Illinois Fighting Illini in 2020, Newton played in all eight games with two starts and had 23 tackles and 1.5 sacks.[4] In 2021, he started 11 of 12 games, recording 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks.[5] Newton returned to Illinois in 2022.[6][7] Newton declared for the 2024 NFL draft following the 2023 season, where he was named a consensus All-American and the Big 10's Nagurski–Woodson Defensive Player of the Year.[8][9] He finished his career with 18 sacks, tying Moe Gardner for the most for an Illinois defensive tackle.[10]

College statistics
Season GP Tackles Fumbles
Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck FR FF TD
2020 7 6 17 23 1.5 1.5 – 1 –
2021 12 19 31 50 3.5 3.5 – – –
2022 13 29 33 62 14 5.5 2 – –
2023 12 26 26 52 8.5 7.5 1 1 –
Career 44 80 107 187 27.5 18 3 2 0

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
6 ft 1+5⁄8 in
(1.87 m) 		304 lb
(138 kg) 		32+3⁄8 in
(0.82 m) 		9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)
All values from NFL Combine[11][12]

Newton was drafted by the Washington Commanders in the second round (36th overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.[13] In May 2024, Newton underwent surgery to fix a Jones fracture in his left foot.[14]

Personal life

Newton has four brothers; Jerjuan played for the Toledo Rockets and ranks in the top ten of the school's career touchdown receptions list.[10]

References

  1. ^ Brugler, Dane. "The Beast: 2024 NFL Draft Guide" (PDF). The Athletic. p. 204. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  2. ^ Stevens, Matthew (December 18, 2019). "3-Star DL Jer'Zhan Newton Flips From Maryland To Illinois On Signing Day". Sports Illustrated.
  3. ^ Stevens, Matthew (December 27, 2019). "How Deuce Spann's & Johnny Newton's Friendship Resulted in a Signing Day Flip". Sports Illustrated.
  4. ^ Wagner, Joey (November 10, 2020). "After August COVID-19 diagnosis, Illinois true freshman Johnny Newton is off to fast start". Herald & Review.
  5. ^ Asmussen, Bob (December 3, 2021). "Randolph, Newton looking forward to better days ahead for Illinois". News-Gazette.
  6. ^ Kimball, Anderson (September 8, 2022). "Johnny Newton leading Illinois defensive line by example". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  7. ^ Richey, Scott (October 6, 2022). "Trio leading the way for Illinois defensive line". News-Gazette.
  8. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (November 21, 2023). "Illinois' Jer'Zhan Newton, Keith Randolph Jr. to enter NFL draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Big Ten Conference Announces Football All-Conference Teams for Defense, Special Teams and Select Individual Honors". Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2023. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Selby, Zach (April 29, 2024). "Five things to know about Jer'Zhan Newton". Commanders.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  11. ^ "Jer'Zhan Newton Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Jer'Zhan Newton College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Selby, Zach (April 26, 2024). "Commanders draft DT Jer'Zhan Newton with No. 36 overall pick". Commanders.com. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  14. ^ Skinner, Caleb (May 15, 2024). "Commanders 2nd Round Pick DT Jonny Newton Undergoes Successful Surgery". Retrieved May 22, 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jer'Zhan Newton.
  • Jer'Zhan Newton on Twitter
  • Washington Commanders bio
  • Illinois Fighting Illini bio
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