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Every future college prospect sees their recruitment take off at some point during high school. Spencer Newman’s recruitment has taken off sooner than expected as he received his first Division I offer before his junior year had even begun. 

On June 14, Newman received a verbal football scholarship offer from Murray State’s head coach Jody Wright. This came after Wright called Newman and personally invited him to Murray State’s football camp on June 14. 

Newman had a great day at the camp and even had conversations with most of Murray State’s assistant coaches throughout the day. Newman was offered a scholarship directly after the camp. The offer came as a surprise, but he had also been working towards the goal of gaining college interest. 

“After the football camp, he walked around and watched me throughout the whole thing,” Newman said. “After it was over, his assistant came up to me and told me that the coach would like to speak to me… He shook my hand and told me I had a great camp. He said that he would like to offer me a verbal scholarship and that they would watch me throughout this season and my senior year.” 

“I was surprised, but I’ve also been trying to work towards an offer,” Newman added. “He called me and invited me up there. I had a feeling that I could more than likely get an offer. When he called me and invited me up there, I just thought since he invited me I needed to go up there and show out the best I can.” 

Newman’s relationship with Murray State’s coaching staff is still in the beginning stages, but the school and the coaches have already left a lasting impression on him. 

The coaching staff for the Racers have already treated Newman like one of the team’s priority recruits. That was evident as soon as he arrived on campus for the camp. 

“They are really open to you,” Newman said. “It’s a nice community up there. Their college is a big, open campus. It’s a good college, a beautiful campus, a beautiful stadium. When I walked up and registered, I said my last name and they all looked at me. Every coach talked to me like I was one of their players.” 

Newman was a dynamic athlete for Chambers Academy last season, dominating on the offensive and defensive line while also serving as the team’s kicker. He was not always that dominant. In fact, Newman did not always treat football as a priority. 

Newman treated football as something he just did for fun during his freshman season. Chambers Academy’s coaching staff saw something in Newman early on. His dynamic size and aggression gave him a lot of untapped potential. Newman began taking the game seriously as a sophomore and had started to see the fruit of his labor. 

“I really didn’t take football seriously my freshman year,” Newman said. “At the start of my sophomore year, I got a little more serious about it. I started watching it and doing a lot more.” 

“I’ve got the size and everybody’s told me that I’ve got all the elements to play professional football,” Newman added. “Everyone just kept on saying that, and I put some thought into it. On the football field, I got to where it’s fun to take somebody, drive them backward and put them into the ground.” 

There were several leaders for Chambers Academy’s defensive and offensive line last season. Ryan Smith was the ringleader for the defense last season as a senior. 

Smith was somewhat of a mentor for Newman last season. Now, Newman feels like it is his time to step up and be the team’s leader on both sides of the line of scrimmage. 

“It feels like he just turned around and handed me the throne,” Newman said.

Murray State’s coaching staff is the first college coaching staff to take a vested interest in Newman, but the Rebels’ coaching staff has always been invested in his development on and off the field. 

Newman believes that coach Kyle Jackson has been one of the biggest helps in his development because of the drills he puts the offensive line through in practice. Kross Colley, a former player at Chambers Academy, has helped Newman with every part of his technique on the defensive line. He has even been helped by legendary coach Tom Garrett as Garrett gives the team energy at every practice and game. 

“Coach Jackson, he’s helped me with our drills that help our down blocking, pulling and all of our play schemes,” Newman said. “Kross Colley, he’s come back and helped coach Dillon [NeSmith] out with defense. He especially helps out on the defensive line. Cross steps in and teaches us how to do all the swim and dip moves. Coach Garrett, when he’s out there, he gets us fired up.” 

The offer from Murray State is likely the first of many for Newman. This first offer acts as motivation for him. Newman knows that the eyes will be on him from now on, and he also believes that his getting attention from college coaches could lead to more athletes from Chambers Academy getting recruited. 

“It drives me 110% to be better,” Newman said. “Everyone says when you get that first offer, that means more people are going to put eyes on you and possibly other offers come in.”