One of NC’s best football players transferring from one Charlotte school to another
After playing his first three years at Myers Park High School, senior running back Jacob Newman will play his final season at South Mecklenburg.
Newman’s father, Tim, said his son enrolled at South Mecklenburg on Wednesday morning. He said the family had bought a home in the South Meck district and would be closing on it this week.
Jacob Newman, 5-foot-11 and 190-pounds, ran for 809 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games last spring. He averaged nearly six yards per carry and was named to the Southwestern 4A all-conference team and The Observer’s all-star high school team for the best players in the media outlet’s coverage zone. Newman was also a finalist for the N.C. High School Heisman, an award given for the first time last year to the state’s best player.
Newman had some monster performances in the regular season in the Mustangs’ toughest games — 29 carries for 192 yards against Hickory Ridge; 20 carries for 144 yards against Porter Ridge and 21 carries for 105 yards against Butler. But in the playoffs, his carries diminished. In a 42-7 loss to Vance in the N.C. state semifinals, Newman ran the ball four times.
Asked why his son was making the move, Tim Newman repeatedly talked about family.
“It’s the best thing for our family,” said Tim Newman, who recently took a job as head football coach at Virginia University-Lynchburg, a historically black college in Lynchburg, Va. “We had a chance to move to a really nice place. South Meck’s got a great education, just like Myers Park. At this point, it’s been a great run (at Myers Park) but by me getting a head coaching job and being able to move into a part of the city I always wanted to move to, it was a good time to do this. And South Meck was a great spot for Jacob and he’s got an opportunity to be a big part of the football team. But more than that, this all is just a great fit for us as a family.”
Tim Newman recently left a job at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, where his wife, Gail, currently works. Newman said he initially applied for a board transfer to move his son to South Mecklenburg, prior to moving, but was turned down. Newman said the transfer was approved on appeal but that Jacob Newman might have to sit out the season for attending a school outside of his assigned zone.
Newman said his son would begin practicing with South Mecklenburg this week. Sabres coach Joe Evans was not available for comment Wednesday morning, but adding Newman should help Evans’ team continue its rebuilding process.
From 1997-2018, South Mecklenburg had four winning seasons. Evans, who led playoff teams at Independence and Ardrey Kell, started at South before the 2019 season. His first team was 0-11. His second, which played earlier this year, was 4-3. South Meck won its last four games by a combined score of 132-35.
This fall, the Sabres are expected to return many key players from the team that played last spring. Adding Newman should only help.
Newman has scholarship offers from Fort Valley State, UMass, Mississippi Valley State and Presbyterian. He said he’s getting recruiting interest from Appalachian State, Charlotte, Duke, Liberty, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, all schools where he’s already taken unofficial visits. And he said Western Michigan and Maryland are beginning to show interest.
“This year, with COVID, we only got six (regular-season) games and (coaches) are telling me they really like me and they want more film,” Jacob Newman said. “I understand that, and if I come out of the gate blazing this year, I’ll wake some people up and I definitely hope to see my recruiting process jump even more.”
Jacob Newman said he had not spoken to Sabres coach Evans yet, but couldn’t wait to get started with his new team.
“It’s a good fit for me to finish my senior year there,” Newman said. “It’s never a perfect time to leave a school you’ve been at for three years, but I talked about it with my family and we felt this was the best move for me personally and being there puts me in a good position. And that school is a great school to be at. I’m excited. It’s a fresh start. New coach, new team, but still the same goal — win the state championship. And I feel we can do that over at South Meck.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 11:18 AM.
