Oklahoma football: Getting to know 2024 CB commit Jeremiah Newcombe
By Brandon Self
Expert note: This is the premier of an ongoing evaluation series profiling the 2024 Sooner Football recruit commitments. Today’s recruit is Oklahoma football commit Jeremiah Newcombe.
With the 2024 Oklahoma recruiting cycle entering the spring season, Stormin’ in Norman will feature an ongoing series presenting in-depth player profiles for each Sooner football commitment. Fittingly, the first name to be featured on the list will be the first and only 2024 Oklahoma football commit thus far, CB Jeremiah Newcombe.
Newcombe is a 5-foot-11-inch, 175-pound cornerback from Casteel High School in Queen Creek, Arizona. According to his recruiting profile on 247sports, Newcombe, a consensus four-star recruit, chose the Sooners among offers from Arizona, BYU, Nebraska, Michigan, Colorado, Notre Dame, USC, and others.
The first thing I noticed when watching his tape was his physicality. Newcombe plays aggressively and is always looking to make a play on the ball carrier. He doesn’t gamble much in the passing game; instead, he focuses his initial attention on zeroing in on the ball carrier. This is important and rare for a lot of high school defensive backs.
Newcombe displays solid fundamentals and executes aggressive tackles on receivers and running backs in the run game alike.
The second piece of his tape that impressed me was his speed. You’ll notice his initial step and his closing speed are both very fast. During several of Newcombe’s zone coverage assignments, I watched him break off of an initial receiver in cover-2 coverage and shed a block attempt on his way to making an impressive tackle in the flat.
He also displays a quick first step following play recognition. His man coverage ability is solid on tape, allowing him opportunities to go for interceptions in deep pass attempts. He does this by setting up the quarterbacks and tricking them into believing a receiver is open — only to react late to make a play on the ball, often resulting in a pass breakup or even an interception.
Newcombe also plays wide receiver on offense and, on multiple occasions took a quick screen in the flat for a long-distance score. He is consistently seen as the fastest player on the field.
A big thing I noticed on tape was his size. I had to check and then re-check his height and weight because he plays bigger than his listed dimensions.
He plays with a linebacker-type mentality with his run fits, and he can out-physical his defenders who try to block him. That’s encouraging to see in a high school defensive back, especially one who plans to play in the SEC soon.
As for his weight, Newcombe has a long frame that should enable him to add weight without affecting his burst. His build resembles the 2023 signee and current spring standout Jasiah Wagoner. Suppose Newcombe possesses half of the aggressiveness and ferocity that Wagoner does. In that case, the Sooners’ cornerbacks will quickly gain recognition as one of the most formidable cornerback groups in the country.
One thing some people don’t think about, that I noticed on Newcombe’s tape, is the playing surfaces he plays on. Most high school football fields these days are on artificial turf. The majority of Newcombe’s tape is on natural grass. This (playing surface) is an often under-evaluated metric. This is important to a coach because, with the exclusion of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Ole Miss), Vanderbilt Stadium (Vandy), and Faurot Field (Mizzou), all of the other 12 SEC stadiums have natural grass playing surfaces, as does Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.
Texas has field turf; the Red River Rivalry, however, is played in Dallas on natural grass. I’ve often spoken with players about this difference, and the response is consistent: You feel slower on grass than on turf. Although this fact is small, it is still worth noting that Newcombe’s speed and agility are impressive on natural grass fields, which will come in handy for him as he transitions to college.
Following an unofficial visit to Norman on March, 23, Newcombe notified the OU staff of his intent to commit to the Sooner football program to ways later on March 25. He will join a deep defensive backs room coached by Coach Brandon Hall and Co-Defensive Coordinator Jay Valai.
With Newcombe’s commitment, he has become the first player from the state of Arizona to commit and play for the Sooners in the Brent Venables era. Anytime a staff can extend its recruiting footprint to a new state it’s a positive for future recruiting efforts and eventual recruiting pipeline’ development.
This upcoming weekend will feature more Sooner recruits visiting the OU campus in Norman, with the expected commitment announcement of Frisco (Texas) Emerson quarterback Michael Hawkins coming on Saturday, April 8.
Stay tuned to Stormin’ in Norman’s coverage of all Sooner football commitments for the 2024 class.