EAGLE ALUMNI

Billy Newman - 2002 Draft Profile

William "Billy" Newman
Position:
Strong Safety
College:
Washington State
Height:
5-9.6
Weight:
204
Hometown:
Laguna Niguel, Calif.

ANALYSIS

Positives: Very alert player, quickly reading and diagnosing the plays.Finds and flows to the ball with tremendous ease-of-movement agility.Has the foot quickness and hip swerve to turn and go coming out of his backpedal.Shows excellent field vision playing in the zone, filling the rush lanes in an instant while also breaking sharply on the ball in deep passing situations.Alert and aggressive tackler who instantly knows where the ball is.Will jump and extend for the ball in traffic, displaying the pinpoint timing needed to disrupt the pass.Smart athlete who leads by example and called the defensive signals, making all of the adjustments for the defensive unit.Outstanding special teams coverage defender who can also return kicks.Has good functional strength and explosion in his tackles.Pound-for-pound, one of the strongest players in college.High character type who is extremely dependable.Loves to mix it up in the trenches and will play with injuries that would sideline most athletes.Displays good hands for the interception, properly extending his arms to catch away from the framework of the body.Has a keen knack for timing the pass, consistently getting his hands up in the receiver's face and shows great zone awareness in the two-&-three deep coverage and combo routes.

Negatives: Little stiff at times coming out of his backpedal.Even though he has good sustained speed, he lacks that second gear to display agility in transition to close on the ball.Tends to allow a cushion underneath and will get turned trying to close the gap in man coverage.Takes inconsistent angles at times when attempting to tackle, causing him to lose containment.

CAREER NOTES

The former high school halfback sensation made a smooth transition to the defensive side of the ball as a redshirt freshman.Started the last three years at strong safety.Called a "coach on the field" by the Cougars staff, he was responsible for calling the defensive signals and adjustments.His "search and destroy" attitude has scouts comparing his style of play to that of Miami Dolphins standout, Brock Marion.Finished his career with 325 tackles (185 solos), seven sacks and 18 stops behind the line of scrimmage while also intercepting nine passes with 25 pass deflections, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in 46 games.

2001 SEASON

All-American honorable mention and All-Pac 10 Conference second-team selection by The NFL Draft Report.Started all year at strong safety, ranking third on the team with 75 tackles (39 solos), including two sacks for minus-17 yards and seven stops for losses of 23 yards.Second on the squad with four interceptions for 62 yards in returns and a touchdown and ranked third with nine pass deflections.Caused a fumble and returned five kickoffs for 85 yards (17.0 avg).

  • Boise State -- Made 7 tackles with a pass break-up and a 21-yard kickoff return.
  • Arizona -- Set up a scoring drive with an interception, adding 6 tackles with a pair of pass deflections and a 12-yard kickoff return.
  • Oregon State -- Batted away a pass at the goal line and returned an interception 8 yards.
  • Stanford -- Raced 54 yards for a touchdown with an interception to give the Cougars a 45-39 decision.Also came up with 8 tackles and a pass deflection.
  • Montana State -- Followed with 4 hits and a pair of pass break-ups.
  • Oregon -- Had 10 tackles (7 solos) and a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage, including one that caused Oregon QB Joey Harrington to fumble the ball.
  • UCLA -- Credited with a 6-tackle performance.
  • Arizona State -- Sacked QB Jeff Krohn for an 11-yard loss, stopped tailback Delvon Flowers behind the line of scrimmage on a third-down play, deflected a pass and posted 6 tackles (5 solos).
  • Washington -- Had an interception, a pass deflection, 5 tackles (3 solos) and a stop for a 2-yard loss.
  • Purdue (Sun Bowl) -- Closed out his career with 9 tackles (5 solos), 2 pass deflections, 2 kickoff returns for 32 yards and sacked QB Kyle Orton for a 6-yard loss late in the fourth quarter to seal a 33-27 victory.

2000 SEASON

All-Pac 10 Conference second-team choice.Manned the strong safety position, leading the team with 100 tackles (59 solos).Second on the squad with three sacks for minus 24 yards and fifth with six stops for losses of 29 yards.Third on the Cougars with nine pass deflections and paced the defense with four interceptions for 44 yards in returns with a touchdown.Also led the team with three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.Had nine kickoff returns for 191 yards (21.2 avg) and four punt returns for 3 yards (0.8 avg).

1999 SEASON

All-Pac 10 Conference honorable mention.Started the final 11 games at strong safety.Led the team with a career-high 105 tackles (54 solos).Had a pair of sacks for minus-13 yards and five stops for losses of 24 yards.Deflected six passes and had one interception.Returned 11 kickoffs for 179 yards (16.3 avg).

1998 SEASON

Played in every game, starting the season finale vs. Washington at strong safety.Made 45 tackles (33 solos), recovered a fumble and deflected a pass. UCLA.Recovered a fumble.

1997 SEASON

Redshirted as a freshman.Performed on the scout team as a tailback.Shifted to strong safety in spring drills after the season.

AGILITY TESTS

4.53 in the 40-yard dash.355-pound bench press.300-pound power clean.1,085-pound leg sled.35½-inch vertical jump.29¼-inch arm length.8 7/8-inch hands.Right-handed.23 Wonderlic score.

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended Santa Margarita Catholic (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) High, where he was a standout running back, defensive back and return specialist.As a senior, he set 24 school game, season and career records.Rushed for 2,309 yards (ranked sixth in Orange County) and had 3,097 all-purpose yards.Scored 24 touchdowns and 144 points.Best game was a school-record 354 rushing yards against Trabuco Hills, which ranked fourth among Orange County rushing leaders.Also had school records for all-purpose yards, 429, and rushing attempts, 30, in that game...Scored four touchdowns in one game.His 3,767 career rushing yards ranks 12th on the all-time Orange County list.Had 11 games of 100 rushing yards or more and five over 200 yards.Returned 20 punts 302 yards.Named CIF Division V Offensive Player of the Year.Named by the Sea View League coaches as Offensive Player of the Year.Media pick as Offensive Player of the Year for South Orange County.Started 35 games during his career.Named to Super Prep Magazine's All-Far West team.

PERSONAL

Sports Management major.Son of Constance and Bill Newman.Born William Wells-Lee Newman Jr. on 12/10/78 in San Clemente, Calif..Resides in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

STATS

DEFENSIVE STATS
YEAR GP GS TK SO AS FR FC INT TFL PBU SACK BK
1998 11 01 45 33 12 1 0 0 0-0 1 0.0-0 0
1999 12 11 105 54 51 0 0 1 5-24 6 2.0-13 0
2000 11 11 100 59 41 3 2 4 6-29 9 3.0-24 0
2001 12 12 75 39 36 0 1 4 7-23 9 2.0-17 0
TOTAL 46 35 325 185 140 4 3 9 18-76 25 7.0-54 0

KICKOFF RETURNS PUNT RETURNS
YEAR NO YARDS AVG TD LONG NO YARDS AVG TD LONG
1999 11 179 16.3 0 30          
2000 9 191 21.2 0 38 4 3 0.8 0 3
2001 5 85 17.0 0 21          
TOTAL 25 455 18.2 0 38 4 3 0.8 0 3

INTERCEPTION RETURNS
YEAR NO YARDS AVG TD LONG
1999 1 0 0.0 0 0
2000 4 44 11.0 1 28
2001 4 62 15.5 1 54
TOTAL 9 106 11.8 2 54

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