Terence Newman
CB, Kansas St.
Height - 5'10"
Weight - 181
40-yard - 4.41
Coverage skills: Lacks ideal height, but compensates with great leaping ability and athleticism. Is exceptionally fluid for how fast he is. Shows smooth hips and bursts out of his pedal. Isn't very physical in coverage. Has lapses in recognition at times, but catches up and closes well. Shows impeccable timing. Grade: 8.8
Run/pass recognition: Was more of a track star early in college, but improved greatly in this area the past two seasons. Like most gamblers, gets out of position at times, but excels at changing directions and catching up. Is natural in man coverage; awareness should continue to improve. Grade: 8.4
Closing speed: Has a great combination of quickness, change of direction, and top-end speed. Closes well when the ball is in the air. Shows outstanding short-area quickness. Grade: 8.7
Ball skills: Has the hands of a wide receiver. Is aggressive when the ball is in the air. Is a natural playmaker. Grade: 8.7
Run support: This is a big weakness. Lacks ideal size and isn't physical enough. Is a drag-down tackler. Shows marginal strength at the point of attack and sub par tackling skills. Grade: 7.8
Bottom line: Newman, a former Big 12 outdoor spring champion, has emerged as the top cornerback in this class. In addition to his defensive responsibilities, he shined on special teams -- both returning and blocking kicks. He will be 25 as a rookie and isn't suited for run support, but he has all the tools of a shutdown cover corner.
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Newman makes refreshing appearance at Combine
INDIANAPOLIS -- Catching up on some observations made during the NFL Combine:
In what was a frustrating year with more top prospects not working out than normal, it was refreshing to see Kansas State CB Terence Newman throw his hat in the ring. Newman had a strong workout and ran an impressive 4.37 in the 40-yard dash.
Newman working out set the bar for the rest of the top corners and they responded well. Oklahoma's Andre Woolfolk (4.43) and Washington State's Marcus Trufant (4.46) are the next two highest rated corners and they certainly helped themselves with their 40 times.
Texas' Roderick Babors (4.40), Texas A&M's Sammy Davis (4.37), Tuskegee's Drayton Florence (4.45) and Colorado's Donald Strickland (4.46) Oregon State's Dennis Weatherby (4.31) and Wisconsin's B.J. Tucker (4.37) were the cornerbacks that helped themselves the most with good 40-yard dash times and strong workouts.
As expected SMU's Kevin Garrett (4.37) was impressive, showing exceptional athletic ability and explosiveness in his individual workouts and running one of the best 40-times in the group.
On the contrary Mississippi State's Korey Banks (4.65), Oregon State's Terrell Roberts (4.60) and Clemson's Brian Nance (4.62) probably wish they had never showed up in Indianapolis.
The participation from the safety group was also good but not as great as the corners. Ohio State's Mike Doss didn't work out because he visited the White House with his teammates. Three other top safety prospects -- Tennessee's Julian Battle, USC's Troy Polamalu and North Carolina State's Terrence Holt -- failed to work out.
Michigan's Cato June pulled a hamstring while running a 4.59 in his first 40-yard dash attempt and Stanford's Colin Ranch did the same while running a 4.40 40-yard dash.
California's
Nnamdi Asomugha (4.46), Texas A&M's Terrence Kiel (4.46) and Bethune-Cookman's Rashean Mathis (4.44) were the safeties that helped themselves the most with good 40-yard dash times and strong workouts.
Michigan State's Thomas Wright (4.85) is a versatile player that showed adequate range at the college level but his stock had to have dropped when he ran the worst 40-time of any of the defensive backs.
The performance of Virginia Tech's Willie Pile (4.63) and Notre Dame's Jerome Sapp (4.65) won't hurt them as much, but they'll need to improve their times at the individual pro days at their respective schools.
: 10/6/07
if I could.
