Ed Thompson: You've been described as a "complete tight-end..."
Joe Newton: That's the thing I've always tried to be, a complete tight-end,
and I think I have some skills that allow me to do that. First of all, I'm a
pretty big guy. I have the size to be both a blocker and a receiver and my size
helps me--especially in the red zone. So I think I can do a little bit of
everything and really help a team.
ET: What can you do down in the red zone to help a team score points?
JN: I think a lot of my experience playing basketball from high school and
having that size and being able to get up and outfight defenders for the ball,
use my body to shield them off, and I think I can get open in the red zone. I
can find that soft spot in the zone or beat a man and I think those are all
important things when you're trying to get open down there.
ET: You had a great season in 2004. What was clicking for you that year?
JN: I had the whole year before that behind me where I got broken in as a
red-shirt freshman playing behind Tim Euhus and I got really comfortable with
our offense. And our quarterback, Derek Anderson, we had a really good
connection going on. Our offense was way more pass-oriented than it is now, so
all of those factors played a big role I think.
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| (Tom Hauck/Getty Images) |
ET: In 2005 you ruptured a tendon in your foot. Tell me more about that...
JN: It was a completely freak injury. I was doing a conditioning drill
on the first day of fall camp and I came around a turn and heard a little pop
from my ankle. I thought it was a sprain, but it turned out it was a ruptured
tendon and that took me out for the entire season. It was a pretty rough
experience to go through. At first I was bummed out by it, and I didn't know
what my future held at that point. But I knew I was going to give it as much of
a chance as I could and work as hard as I could to get back to where I was
before. Our team struggled that year and I felt like I could be helping us, so I
used that as motivation and worked hard rehabbing it as much as possible.
Luckily my surgeon did an unbelievable job repairing it and my trainers did a
great job rehabbing with me and I came back and it's as strong as ever now. I
think it holds good things for me in the future.
ET: What's the most valuable thing you picked up from the coaches at
the Senior Bowl?
JN: The importance of finishing. Finishing every play, every catch you make,
sprinting and finishing all the way to the end. That's something I'm going to
carry on with me.
ET: You've been complimented in the past for your alert style of play and
your consistency...
JN: I think the tight-end can play a big role by being a safety valve for the
quarterback. We have bigger bodies that allow us to be an easy check-down point
for a quarterback. So if the quarterback gets in trouble I try to get open and
get back to give him a good target. As for consistency, I think I come and play
hard every week. And I think that's another important thing to look at if you
can get a guy who will give you a solid effort day-in and day-out.
ET: When you look back on your collegiate career, what does it mean to you
to finish with the record for the most career touchdowns for a tight-end at your
school?
JN: It's kind of special to me because the guy whose record I broke was kind
of my mentor there my freshman year; Tim Euhus, he was drafted by the Bills. We
became really good friends and I think that if anyone were to take it from him
he was happy it was me. He has a definite part in that, and it just makes me
happy that I could be a part of some pretty good football teams in Oregon State
history.
Learn more about Joe Newton at his player profile page.
| A member of the Professional Football Writers of America, Ed Thompson's NFL and college football player interviews and features have been published across the Scout.com network and syndicated through FoxSports.com's NFL team pages. |
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