Jonathan Newsome
Pulls the Trigger
Jonathan Newsome saw everything that he wanted to see from Ohio State
and other college programs. So he decided to call Ohio State’s
defensive backfield coach Tavor Johnson and commit to be a Buckeye.
By Steve Patterson
Loving Ohio State
Cleveland Glenville
linebacker/defensive end Jonathan Newsome wanted to wait before committing to a
college but after a number of visits he felt Ohio State
was the right place for him. “What led me to my commitment was that I got to see
other schools for the first time and while they were nice places (Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan State) I didn’t have that feeling I had when I was at Ohio
State.” He told us last night.
Newsome
fell in love with Ohio
State and everyone around
him is also very much enamored with everything that makes up the university. “I
love Ohio State,
my mother loves Ohio State, and coach Ginn really loves Ohio State.
So I knew in the end where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do with my life
so Ohio State was the best fit.”
Making the Call
He was told not to make a rush
decision even as the 2009 class as filing up quickly with one highly ranked
recruit after another. “I called coach Johnson first to let him know where my
mind was and he told me that if that’s what I wanted to do then great but he
warned me to take my time and that there was no rush for me to decide anytime
soon.” But he knew where he wanted to be. “So I thought it over and over and I
said "u know what? Forget it. I know what I want to do so there’s no need
to wait any longer.”
Coach
Tressel is really grateful every time a young man decides to join the football
program and with Newsome the feelings were the same. “Then I called Coach Tressel
and he got all excited and just told me he was happy that I made the choice I
did. After that I talked to Coach Ginn and he was happy for me. He's done a lot
for me and I would say he had a big influence on my decision. He has a solid
relationship with Ohio
State and I would hate to
be the one to mess it up.” He explained about the Glenville pipeline.
2009 Recruits
Congratulate
A number of defensive players
contacted Newsome to welcome him to the family shortly after his decision. “I
got text messages from every recruiting website in the world that day, but none
of my texts were more important then the ones I got from Melvin Fellows, Adam Bellamy
and Jamie Wood. Those guys are my future teammates on Ohio State’s
defense and it’s good to know that I’ll have some cool people on the field with
me that happen to be very good.”
Summer Enrollment
“I probably won’t enroll early due
to me not having enough credits but I do plan on working harder then ever when I
get there because I have a lot to prove to the coaches, fans and myself.”
Newsome told us about his plans to wait until after he graduates in June to
enroll at Ohio State.
He has already begun to set some
high goals for when he does arrive in Columbus.
“My goal is to not have to red-shirt. It’s a long shot but I’ve been in
situations like that before and I’ve come out on top.”
Newsome transferred to Glenville
and had to earn a position on the team similar to his new goal as a Buckeye. “It’s
kind of like when I first got to Glenville with all their talent and fought
until I got a varsity letter. I was at Benedictine my freshman year and then I
transferred before the school year ended.”