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Johnny Newton nets national honor for massive outing vs. Wisconsin
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Johnny Newton was a one-man wrecking crew in Saturday’s game against Wisconsin. While Illinois was eventually unable to stop a comeback from the Badgers, Newton’s major performance in the game netted the defensive lineman a national honor.
Monday morning, the Reese’s Senior Bowl named Newton the Co-Defensive Player of the Week for the Week 8 slate. Newton’s performance included 6 total tackles with 4 of those coming in solo stops.
Newton compiled 1 sack and a forced fumble but he was constantly in the backfield against the Badgers. He added 3 QB hits in the game.
💪💪💪 The Reese’s Senior Bowl Co-Defensive Player of the Week is @IlliniFootball DL Jer’Zhan Newton @Johnny5Newton racking up 6 tackles, 4 solo, 1 Sack, 3 QBH, and 1 forced fumble. #Illini #famILLy #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/Lv9CS8SG59
— Reese’s Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) October 23, 2023
The 6-foot-2 and 295-pound defensive lineman has been widely regarded as one of the top interior defenders in the country and is a major prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft. So far this season, he is fifth on the Illini with 35 total tackles but leads the team with 4.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.