Newton’s all the way back

Beaver tight end is healthy and should be a huge asset

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Apr 14, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Sometime early in Oregon State’s first spring scrimmage Saturday, Joe Newton will catch a pass, take a hit and come up smiling.

“I’m looking forward to it,” says Newton, the tight end who missed all of last season after surgery to his lower left leg. “It will be fun to get back to full speed again. Going in full pads is fun, yet painful.”

Newton means normal-football painful, not injured-leg painful. The 6-7, 260-pound All-America candidate says the leg “feels great Ñ as good as new. I’m still not back to where I was in terms of being comfortable with the way I’m playing, but I’m getting better every day.”

One of Newton’s priorities over the next four months is to develop a relationship with quarterback Matt Moore, who like Newton will be a senior in the fall. Moore transferred from UCLA last year, so the two haven’t yet played together.

“Every day we get working together a little closer,” Newton says, “but (a close relationship) doesn’t happen over-night. It’s going to take all spring, all summer and (August) camp. Hopefully by the time the season starts, we’ll be clicking.”

Not a lot of depth

Newton and senior-to-be Jason Vandiver are the only tight ends in camp this spring, and as a result, the Beavers are eschewing use of the H-back Ñ an extra tight end in the backfield, who usually goes in motion Ñ until August.

“It’s been a little strange,” Newton says. “Last spring, we had about eight tight ends. With only Jason and me, it’s a lot of reps. It takes a toll on the legs, but I’m going to be the better for it.”

It’s no secret Newton, who caught 56 passes for 687 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior in 2004, will be a major weapon for the Beavers this fall, especially with the departure of Biletnikoff Award winner Mike Hass.

“For us to be good, Joe has to be productive, just as (tailback) Yvenson Bernard has to be,” coach Mike Riley says. “We’re building this team from the inside out rather than the outside in, as it was when we had Mike. We have good receivers and I’m impressed with their progress, but the more known quantities are at tailback and tight end.”

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