North Carolina State University Athletics
Program Spotlight: James Newby
9/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Raleigh, N.C. - If you are in college now, or if you ever attended a place of higher learning, you know about the time commitments and difficulty of keeping your grades up and ultimately graduating. Now imagine if what little free time you had was decreased because you were the starting offensive tackle for NC State's football team. As a high profile student-athlete your responsibilities double. Throw in the added commitment to a wife and baby girl, and you have the life of James Newby, a redshirt senior lineman from Alabama who defines dedication and hard work, but most of all he epitomizes the role of "The Protector".
"Protecting your family is obviously something that comes first over blocking for my quarterback," Newby said. "Both jobs are important and something I take pride in. Even at practice, the defense isn't supposed to touch the quarterback, but they work so hard to get in the backfield and can't even touch him. So even if they accidentally bump [quarterback] Marcus [Stone] or barely touch him, it gets my blood boiling and gets me mad. That's a protection issue.
"I watch over my family the best I can when I'm away from football and that is something that comes first."
It isn't hard to see Newby's love for his family after only a few minutes of being around him. His daughter, Emma, was born in July of 2005 and is clearly an important part of his life, as is his high school sweetheart, wife Lindsay. The couple married after high school and headed to Raleigh.
"I've known Lindsay since we were in the 8th grade, and about a month out of high school we got married," Newby said. "We knew we were going far away from home, so it was good to have someone to fall back on. She loved the area and the people were very nice to her, around town and in the athletic department. We both loved the area, and now when we go home to Alabama we are spoiled by how much we like Raleigh."
They planned on being married right after college, but now Newby had to decide on a school choice for his college education and football family for the next five years. Lindsay came with James on his recruiting visits and she felt welcome at NC State, and James liked what he saw as well, including a connection to his home town, Philip Rivers.
"I was already planning on getting married right out of high school, so Lindsay's input was definitely important to me," Newby said. "We went to a few places, but we both enjoyed NC State the best. Lindsay liked it better than I did at first, but I soon realized what she saw in it. Philip [Rivers] was up here already and we talked about NC State and in the end it made us feel good about our decision to come to Raleigh."
With the newlywed's destination set, they headed to Raleigh. In late 2004, James got a surprise from his wife. Lindsay was pregnant.
"It wasn't real for awhile," Newby said. "It was over my head and I couldn't comprehend it. It was very exciting and how she told me was pretty funny. She went and bought a little NC State shirt that had "Dad" on the back of it, and it took me a minute to realize what she meant. I was like 'Oh, wow.'"
Newby's job is protection. On the field he makes sure Marcus Stone and the Wolfpack quarterbacks stay out of harms way, and off the field he is the protector of Lindsay and Emma. He likes playing offensive tackle and accepting the responsibility that comes with the role.
"I played both tackles and right guard two years ago, and tackle exclusively last year," Newby said. "I like tackle because I have a little more responsibility. You are all alone with this wide open area to your side out there and at guard you have help on both sides of you. The defense has room to work on your outside and try to beat you around the corner. It is a challenging job, but one I like.
"Last year we gave up a few sacks, and every time we did it takes a little part out of you and you feel terrible about it. It's tough."
Newby and his fellow linemen have set goals for the season. The Wolfpack rushing attack will feature talented runners Andre Brown and Toney Baker, and the leader in the passing game, Marcus Stone, brings his 5-1 record as a starter into the season opener on Sept. 2.
"Last year we set the goal of rushing for 200 yards once Andre and Toney started rolling, and our goal every game is to give up no sacks," Newby said. "It's hard to go without giving up any sacks, but we definitely want to keep them down in the single digits. Last year was rough, but I think we will get it down lower this year."
In addition to his football and family life, Newby is also a full-time student working on a turf management degree. The question naturally arises about what he will do after graduation, as it does when a senior's final season approaches.
"I haven't really thought about it," Newby said. "Every college player wants to play in the NFL, and if that chance arises, then I want to do it. If it doesn't, or when I'm done there, I plan on going back to Alabama and starting a sod farm. My family has always farmed, and its something that I know how to do. We have the land, and basically I would grow the sod to sell to sports field, backyards and other uses. The population is growing down there so the new houses all need sod for the yards, and that is what my business would provide."
With obviously the busiest of lives, how does Newby balance everything that is thrown at him?
"Sometimes it does get overwhelming and its all time consuming," Newby said. "You always have to prioritize. When you are at football you have to be there, when you are at school you are at school and when you are at home you are with your family. It has helped me manage my time, because obviously I have responsibilities that have to be met and I have to cover all three of those things in my life."
With his senior season kicking off, Newby has had the chance of a lifetime. He has a great family, is finishing up his education, and he seems set on his goals for the future.
"We are all lucky to be here at NC State, to be a team, and to be around each other, even if we don't like each other all the time," Newby said. "I think it's real rewarding to be around the personalities and to see the camaraderie on this team.
"Lindsay asked me just the other day if I had any regrets about coming here or anything over the last five years. I really don't, I would have liked to have helped the team more, or been a slightly better student, but overall I will walk away without any regrets."
NC State football has no regrets about the Newby's being a part of the NC State family, either.
"Protecting your family is obviously something that comes first over blocking for my quarterback," Newby said. "Both jobs are important and something I take pride in. Even at practice, the defense isn't supposed to touch the quarterback, but they work so hard to get in the backfield and can't even touch him. So even if they accidentally bump [quarterback] Marcus [Stone] or barely touch him, it gets my blood boiling and gets me mad. That's a protection issue.
"I watch over my family the best I can when I'm away from football and that is something that comes first."
It isn't hard to see Newby's love for his family after only a few minutes of being around him. His daughter, Emma, was born in July of 2005 and is clearly an important part of his life, as is his high school sweetheart, wife Lindsay. The couple married after high school and headed to Raleigh.
"I've known Lindsay since we were in the 8th grade, and about a month out of high school we got married," Newby said. "We knew we were going far away from home, so it was good to have someone to fall back on. She loved the area and the people were very nice to her, around town and in the athletic department. We both loved the area, and now when we go home to Alabama we are spoiled by how much we like Raleigh."
They planned on being married right after college, but now Newby had to decide on a school choice for his college education and football family for the next five years. Lindsay came with James on his recruiting visits and she felt welcome at NC State, and James liked what he saw as well, including a connection to his home town, Philip Rivers.
"I was already planning on getting married right out of high school, so Lindsay's input was definitely important to me," Newby said. "We went to a few places, but we both enjoyed NC State the best. Lindsay liked it better than I did at first, but I soon realized what she saw in it. Philip [Rivers] was up here already and we talked about NC State and in the end it made us feel good about our decision to come to Raleigh."
With the newlywed's destination set, they headed to Raleigh. In late 2004, James got a surprise from his wife. Lindsay was pregnant.
"It wasn't real for awhile," Newby said. "It was over my head and I couldn't comprehend it. It was very exciting and how she told me was pretty funny. She went and bought a little NC State shirt that had "Dad" on the back of it, and it took me a minute to realize what she meant. I was like 'Oh, wow.'"
Newby's job is protection. On the field he makes sure Marcus Stone and the Wolfpack quarterbacks stay out of harms way, and off the field he is the protector of Lindsay and Emma. He likes playing offensive tackle and accepting the responsibility that comes with the role.
"I played both tackles and right guard two years ago, and tackle exclusively last year," Newby said. "I like tackle because I have a little more responsibility. You are all alone with this wide open area to your side out there and at guard you have help on both sides of you. The defense has room to work on your outside and try to beat you around the corner. It is a challenging job, but one I like.
"Last year we gave up a few sacks, and every time we did it takes a little part out of you and you feel terrible about it. It's tough."
Newby and his fellow linemen have set goals for the season. The Wolfpack rushing attack will feature talented runners Andre Brown and Toney Baker, and the leader in the passing game, Marcus Stone, brings his 5-1 record as a starter into the season opener on Sept. 2.
"Last year we set the goal of rushing for 200 yards once Andre and Toney started rolling, and our goal every game is to give up no sacks," Newby said. "It's hard to go without giving up any sacks, but we definitely want to keep them down in the single digits. Last year was rough, but I think we will get it down lower this year."
In addition to his football and family life, Newby is also a full-time student working on a turf management degree. The question naturally arises about what he will do after graduation, as it does when a senior's final season approaches.
"I haven't really thought about it," Newby said. "Every college player wants to play in the NFL, and if that chance arises, then I want to do it. If it doesn't, or when I'm done there, I plan on going back to Alabama and starting a sod farm. My family has always farmed, and its something that I know how to do. We have the land, and basically I would grow the sod to sell to sports field, backyards and other uses. The population is growing down there so the new houses all need sod for the yards, and that is what my business would provide."
With obviously the busiest of lives, how does Newby balance everything that is thrown at him?
"Sometimes it does get overwhelming and its all time consuming," Newby said. "You always have to prioritize. When you are at football you have to be there, when you are at school you are at school and when you are at home you are with your family. It has helped me manage my time, because obviously I have responsibilities that have to be met and I have to cover all three of those things in my life."
With his senior season kicking off, Newby has had the chance of a lifetime. He has a great family, is finishing up his education, and he seems set on his goals for the future.
"We are all lucky to be here at NC State, to be a team, and to be around each other, even if we don't like each other all the time," Newby said. "I think it's real rewarding to be around the personalities and to see the camaraderie on this team.
"Lindsay asked me just the other day if I had any regrets about coming here or anything over the last five years. I really don't, I would have liked to have helped the team more, or been a slightly better student, but overall I will walk away without any regrets."
NC State football has no regrets about the Newby's being a part of the NC State family, either.
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