How TCU star Josh Newton’s mental makeup made him a preseason All-American

7-9 minutes 7/23/2023
When TCU grabbed Josh Newton out of the transfer portal before the 2022 season, the Horned Frogs knew they were getting a steal.
But as much as Sonny Dykes and the staff believed in Newton, even they didn’t anticipate Newton going from an underrated transfer pickup to one of the country’s best cornerbacks in just a season.
“You could see the level of play at Louisiana-Monroe,” Dykes said at Big 12 media days. “I don’t think we knew the type of person and competitor we were getting.”
Newton paired with Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson to form one of the nation’s top cornerback duos while helping lead TCU to the national championship game. Hodges-Tomlinson was voted the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive back before headed to the NFL.
Most teams would be in a dire situation losing a player like that, but TCU is uniquely positioned to endure losing one of the program’s most decorated players because of Newton.
Newton was a first team All-Big 12 selection and was voted preseason all-conference earlier this summer. That wasn’t his only preseason accolade. Phil Steele and Athlon Sports named Newton a preseason All-American and Newton also earned a spot on my Associated Press preseason All-American ballot.
“It’s surreal, but it’s something that I worked for beforehand years ago,” Newton said. “Everything’s that coming now is just apart of the territory and I earned everything, nothing was given to me. It was God’s plan.”
Newton is a team-first player, it’s how he was so quickly able to become a leader despite being a new face in the program. But even he acknowledged how special it was to receive this type of recognition.
“It means a lot, because at the end of the day that’s legacy,” Newton said. “That’s part of once I leave, everybody will talk about what Josh Newton came in and did for TCU.”
TCU cornerbacks coach Carlton Buckels has been around the game as a player and coach for more than 25 years. He’s seen it all.
So when Newton stepped on campus, Buckels immediately began to understand the quality of the player and person he was getting.
“Once he got here and started competing you can tell he was a self-motivated guy,” Buckels said. “He’s a leader and he led by example, he was a vocal leader and only knew one speed and that was ‘fast.’ He competed hard every single play.”
Newton came in with the physical tools as a bigger corner at 6-foot, almost 200 pounds. His physicality contesting catches was well-documented after leading Monroe in pass deflections for two straight seasons. Mix those ingredients with Newton’s motor and you have a recipe for a great corner.
But Newton still needed to refine his game for the Power Five level and credits Buckels with helping taking his game to another level.
“He really just helped me calm down,” Newton said. “He’s a big intensity guy, but he was just telling ‘Calm down, just play your game.’”
The advice of slowing down may sound counterintuitive when you consider how playing fast is always the objective for coaches. Run as many plays as you can on offense, less thinking and more reacting on defense.
Newton took that to heart and how much he wanted it was never in question. For Buckels it was just about helping a player reach his potential.
“It was just playing under control,” Buckels said. “Josh is a smart young man and he’s a perfectionist. He always wanted to do things right. He just wanted to make sure he was going at the right pace, but with the right technique. He’s always critical about the little things and wants to do everything right.”
Newton is always looking for areas to get better and identified interceptions as an area he needed to work on despite having a career-high three picks last season. That’s Newton in a nutshell, striving for perfection even when he’s reached a level of greatness.
Buckels even helped him figure out how he could grow in that area.
“One thing I remember vividly is him telling me, that looking back for the ball is apart of your game,” Newton said. “You’ve got to understand where you were at before corner, you were a receiver. Use that, that’s one of the biggest things I’m trying to use going into this season. Getting that ball instead of breaking it up all the time.”
Newton was an all-district and state all-star at receiver coming out of Ouachita Parish in Monroe. He made the switch to corner as a redshirt freshman in 2019. His game has come a long way since then.
It’s clear that Newton has set lofty goals for himself and has the same expectations for his teammates. What gives him the best chance of accomplishing that isn’t his impressive physical tools, it’s a mentality that separate the good from great at cornerback.
“The corner position is so unique,” Dykes said. “There’s not many players that can play the position because the skillset you have to have is different and unique. What makes the great ones is the competitive nature and the fearless attitude. There’s a skillset you have to possess and not many people have it. Josh does, he’s got a great work ethic and believes in himself.”
Newton elaborated more on what it takes mentally to excel at cornerback at the highest level.
“It’s about how bold are you? All the great ones had it,” Newton said. “You’ve got to want to get better and sometimes that takes losing. A lot of people don’t want to accept that. You’ve got to have amnesia, you’ve got to forget big plays quick.
“It’s the nature of it, that’s what comes with it. If you don’t want to be out on that island then don’t get out there. It’s a lonely place and everybody sees you when you mess up. If you ain’t ready for that, I’d advise you to change positions.”
You don’t have to worry about Newton changing positions, he was molded to only survive, but thrive on his island and coverage.
As important as the preseason accolades were to Newton, he made it clear that awards aren’t his ‘why’. Individual recognition isn’t why he plays through pain, shows up on time for every lift or recovery session.
“My why is to retire my momma (Shandria Newton),” Newton said. “It’s deeper than any All-American award. It’s an old saying that ‘Momma can’t raise no man,’ but excuse me, because she damn sure raised a good one. If you want to give thanks to me, nah give it to my mom. She prepared me, molded me into who I am today.”
With that driving him, Newton will never lack for motivation. You could see the energy in spring practice, where the star corner was held out due to a toe injury, but he was still just as engaged as his teammates in pads.
He was first in line everyday for the corner drills, he was the most vocal player on the sidelines coaching up newer faces in the cornerback room after every play. The experience even opened Newton’s mind to evetually becoming a coach after his playing days in the pro.
Whether it’s becoming TCU’s next Thorpe Award winner, making it to the NFL to retire his mom or becoming Coach Newton in the future, don’t bet against Newton.
“I could see Josh doing whatever he wants to do, whatever he puts his mind to,” Buckels said.
Newton is putting all of his mind and his heart into his final season at TCU and adding onto his legacy as the next great TCU defensive back.