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Jer’Zhan Newton’s dominance revealed as Illinois defense continues to standout this season

Kate Norum

By Kate Norum

Published:

Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton’s explosive defense is getting recognized at Illinois.

On Friday afternoon Illinois football’s Twitter account posted a graphic with defensive lineman Newton’s impressive stats this season.

The sophomore Fighting Illini defensive tackle has been dubbed the 1st graded defender in the B1G and the 4th overall defender in the nation. Newton also was 1st in the nation for quarterback pressures with 35 total. As well as, the 1st in the nation with 15 qb hits.

The numbers are definitely not lying.

Just this season, Newton has made 16 solo tackles and 4 sacks. Newton has a career 41 total solo tackles, 69 assist tackles and 9 sacks, from his first season in 2020 to now. Newton’s numbers keep on growing with each week.

Illinois’ defense with Newton on the line is one that seems to be tough competition.

This Saturday is a bye week for the team. The Fighting Illini will head to Nebraska for their next game on Oct. 29.

Kate Norum

Kate Norum covers college football for Saturday Tradition. She graduated from Kennesaw State University with a B.S. in journalism and has always been passionate about sports. Follow Kate on Twitter @katenorum