What Sophomore Slump? Newton Appears Re-Energized

Richard Newton didn't play in the final two games of an abbreviated University of Washington football season, a concern because he often has been the Huskies' most promoted and noticeable tailback.

After snapping off a 54-yard touchdown run and totaling 81 yards rushing against Arizona, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound sophomore from Palmdale, California, never stirred from the bench again.

People immediately assumed the worst and envisioned worse.

What did he say?

What did he do?

Would he leave the program?

Three months later, Newton's absence on a pair of Saturdays still appears to be nothing more than a hard lesson in performance — a wild guess here: he didn't meet standards with his blocking.

Over this past weekend, however, Newton resurfaced with a simple social-media message that seemed to indicate a rededication on his behalf: No curse.

As in no lingering effects from a sophomore sit-down.

As in try and keep him seated this fall.

No Curse 🖤 pic.twitter.com/fkgOj3J7te
— 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔭𝔢𝔯 (@iRiichh) February 14, 2021

Newton is the same guy who built sizable expectations by scoring 11 touchdowns for the Huskies in 2019. This landed him on the Doak Walker watch list entering last season. Athlon Sports even made him a preseason All-Pac-12 second-team selection.

Yet for two games, all he did was watch. He wasn't first-, second- or even third-team on his team.

Husky coach Jimmy Lake explained Newton's glaring absence in the following manner.

"Things like that are going to happen," Lake said. "We pride ourselves in our guys performing in practice, making sure they're able to execute in practice and that's going to transition over into games. We're always evaluating and assessing, and we're going to put the the guys in there who we feel are going to give us the best chance to win the game."

While he looked so electric in going the distance against Arizona, there were probably clues all along that Newton wasn't nearly a finished product last fall. Or that he was losing the reps battle to the others at the time.

54 YARDS TO THE HOUSE 🏡@UW_Football extends their lead thanks to this Richard Newton touchdown! pic.twitter.com/v56a1AiYny
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 22, 2020

For each of the first two games, Newton got more carries than each of his teammates Sean McGrew, Kamari Pleasant and Cam Davis, yet he rotated in third. While McGrew and Pleasant drew starting assignments, Newton had to wait extra long to get on the field.

In 2019, he never started but didn't wait at all to spell Salvon Ahmed, going in right away to run the Wildcat formation or take a handoff and pound inside for a tough yard or repeatedly find the end zone.

In the big scheme of things, Newton going through a two-game shutdown in the middle of a pandemic remains a minor blip.

People still very much believe in his running-back talents, as UW assistant basketball coach Will Conroy, ever the competitor, tweeted out for everyone to see.

🖤🪐 https://t.co/ROL9vWuy8f
— 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔭𝔢𝔯 (@iRiichh) January 13, 2021

No, Newton still has three seasons of eligibility to make himself the total running-back package, a Doak Walker finalist and even a pro football player.

But, as Lake pointed out, nobody is going to hand it to him. He'll have to earn it.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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