Hitting The Road: Greg Newsome
Written by Alec Swain
After visiting Notre Dame this past weekend, Greg Newsome has three more unofficial visits lined up. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound cornerback was reportedly set to take unofficial visits to Iowa, Northwestern and Michigan State this week.
Newsome left his visit to Notre Dame without an offer, but if the Irish choose to pursue him they will have a fair shot at landing his commitment. For now though, Northwestern appears to be the team to beat and could eventually be the landing spot for Newsome. However, he is not in a rush to make a decision.
By visiting Iowa and Michigan State this week, Newsome is definitely showing an openness to other programs besides the Irish and the Wildcats. With impressive visits to Iowa and Michigan State, they could easily prove to be stiff competition in Newsome’s recruitment.
Iowa and Michigan State could both sell how successful they have been in recent memory. Iowa and Wisconsin have seemed to battle it out for the West, as Michigan State can boast two recent Big Ten Championships. Both schools will definitely try to sell Newsome this week on their recent success.
Michigan State, especially, can sell how successful they have been at developing underrated players and molding them into high-caliber stars. Darqueze Dennard, Kurtis Drummond, and Trae Waynes were part of the Michigan State defense which called itself the “No Fly Zone” and they are now all playing in the NFL.
Iowa and Michigan State may have had recent, noted success within the Big Ten, but the same cannot be said of Northwestern. The Wildcats may not boast similar success, but they have proved that they are not a push-over in the Big Ten. Pat Fitzgerald, an alumni and former linebacker, brings a fire and energy to his team. Northwestern may not have many recent Big Ten championships but they will still put up a fight, as they demonstrated when they beat Stanford in the opening game of the 2015 season. This was the same Stanford team which ended Notre Dame’s playoff hopes.
However, this week will be a good measure of how interested Newsome is in programs besides Northwestern and Notre Dame. Newsome is a talented prospect and has been very successful in 7-on-7 play this year, which will likely boost his exposure and rating more in the future. This could potentially lead to him adding more offers and taking more visits. However, no matter what, Northwestern and Notre Dame will have a shot with Newsome, but others definitely could jump into the mix in the future if he continues to perform at a high-level.
For now, Northwestern is the biggest threat to land Newsome, and with strong visits to Iowa and Michigan State competition could surely ramp up for this defensive back very soon. In the coming weeks, Notre Dame will closely evaluate Newsome and decide whether or not it will extend an offer. If he continues to standout in the spring and summer settings, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Irish offer.