Newton impresses in Columbus

The defensive line group at the NIKE Camp in Columbus, Ohio this past weekend was highlighted by five four-star rated prospects. Carmel, Ind., defensive end Langston Newton came into the event without any stars next to his name, but his performance was on par with those prospects already rated.

"It was a good experience getting to compete against like-minded people who understand that football and sports is part of their future," Newton said. "It was good to go against people my age and talent level and get after it. I really felt comfortable and felt that I could compete and stay up there with them."

The 6-5, 240-pound Newton was not 100 percent pleased with his performance, but was certainly happy he made the trip and took several pointers away from the event he plans to weave into his future workouts.

"One of the things I took away from it was when they talked about the 40-yard dash and how to increase your stride length and stride frequency," Newton said. "Another thing was the attitude. There were a lot of good coaches there and they were excited about the sport of football. I'm going to try to take some of their quotes and inspirational things they said and try to incorporate that into being a leader this summer."

Newton has already garnered seven scholarship offers from Western Kentucky, Grambling, Arkansas State, Florida International, Marshall, Indiana and Western Michigan. Additionally, he has been hearing from Mississippi State, LSU, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Cincinnati, Illinois and Kentucky this spring.

Newton's older brother, Morgan Newton, is entering his third year as a quarterback for the Kentucky Wildcats. The younger Newton is excited about the interest Kentucky is showing him.

"They have been talking to him and were up to the school once," Newton said. "I think I am going to go down there to visit and put my work in. I'm getting good vibes off of them, but they are asking me to be patient and really want to me down at camp. I'm really hopeful for Kentucky."

Newton does plan to attend some camps this summer, but he is not sure of all the potential destinations. He has already been on the road and seen schools like Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame, LSU, Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State.

"During spring break we really hit the road hard and saw some of my main schools," Newton said. "Things have calmed down, but we are planning to take a few more visits during my senior year."

Not only is Newton a Division 1 football prospect, he is also a nationally ranked in the shot put and discus. He is the reigning discus national champion and has thrown 188-feet in that event this spring. In the shot put he has a personal best of 59-4.5 this spring.