Newton Closer to His Return, Eager to Get Started in New UW Offense
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Richard Newton doesn't feel sorry for himself, no matter what's happened, not even close.
Coming off a 2019 season in which he ran for 10 touchdowns, caught one and threw for another, the University of Washington Huskies were supposed to be his team, tailback his position.
Instead, Newton disappeared almost completely from the Saturday stat sheets for two years. He appeared in just two games in a pandemic-ruined season. He played in only four outings in 2021 after he was supposed to be the featured ball carrier in Jimmy Lake's pro-style offense.
As the Huskies hold a six-player competition to find a No. 1 running back, the 6-foot, 212-pound Newton remains a spectator in uniform in fall camp, waiting for clearance to turn it into a seven-man race.
He's coming off a knee injury, an anterior cruciate ligament left frayed after taking the field for a solitary play against UCLA, catching a swing pass for a 9-yard gain and leaving more damaged than he thought and in need of surgery following a sideline collision. He thought it was a bone bruise.
"When you play as violent as I do, you get nicks and injuries," said Newton, ever the warrior in his football outlook. "You've got to learn how to play through them. The ones you can't play through, you rehab."
Richard Newton (6) waits with Nebraska transfer Will Nixon (8) for their turns in a fall camp drill.
Skylar Lin Visuals
The Husky running back sweepstakes currently involves a host of transfers in Wayne Taulapapa from Virginia, Will Nixon from Nebraska and Aaron Dumas from New Mexico, and returnees in Cam Davis, Sam Adams and Jay'Veon Sunday.
For all six practices, Newton has pulled on a uniform but been restricted in what he can do because Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff wants to make sure he's fully recovered.
He's been spotted working with a trainer off to the side while the Huskies run scrimmage plays.
"I'm going to keep working my way back to get back on the field," Newton said. "Now I've got to work harder. Yeah, I'm not a stranger to it. I don't love it. Obviously, I didn't anticipate any injuries like that."
To his benefit, Newton is no stranger to new running-backs coach Lee Marks, who tried to recruit the Lancaster, California, native to his previous stop at Boise State.
They ended up on opposite sides in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl, won by the Huskies 38-7. Marks was the Broncos backfield coach for Bryan Harsin, now at Auburn. Newton ran for a 2-yard score and threw a 13-yard pass to Terrell Bynum for a touchdown.
The football reunion has gone smoothly for the UW junior and the veteran coach.
"I'm glad he's here," Newton said of Marks. "He brings a lot of new information for us in the running-back room. He's building a culture in that room that's been different from the past."
After two lost seasons, the bruising running back is getting closer to returning to full-time duty. He's eager to get involved in the new attack. He likes what he sees of the spread offense, intrigued by the idea of him, the running back, sometimes being split out wide.
"I love the new system," Newton said. "I feel like the offense is going to get rolling this year. We're going to put up a lot of points, beat a lot of people."
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