The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BY BRANDON BROWN Clayton (Ohio) Northmont three- star defensive end Gabe Newburg is one of the more modestly rated pros- pects in Michigan's 2019 class, so get- ting to enrolling early could be huge for him. The 6-5, 237-pounder has been on campus since early January and brings with him a mentality ripe with a strong work ethic and fierce drive. Even before he got to U-M, New- burg was already working hard to be as ready for the transition as possible. "My body makeup allowed me to put on good weight without getting slower," Newburg explained. "I can actually see myself getting heavier, but also still becoming faster. I'm just ready to work my butt off. "Playing in games is obviously fun, but I love to practice and improve ev- ery chance I get." Rivals.com Midwest recruiting an- alyst Josh Helmholdt has only seen Newburg on film, so accurately evalu- ating him has been tricky. Still, Helm- holdt has seen enough out of Newburg to think that there's a lot of potential. "There are just a lot of questions, but no red marks against Gabe Newburg," Helmholdt explained. "There's noth- ing that we look at and say, 'He doesn't have this.' A kid like that starts out in a good spot. We'll always be conserva- tive about a guy early on when we haven't seen him in person, but there's a lot to like about him on film. "There's a lot to like about Newburg, period." How good Newburg can be at U-M remains to be seen, but he's going to put in the work to reach the high- est level possible. However, the un- knowns make predicting his future at Michigan difficult. Even as a longtime recruiting analyst, Helmholdt is a bit stumped on just what the Ohio native can ultimately become in Ann Arbor. "I feel like Newburg is a kid that three years from now could end up be- ing All-Big Ten," Helmholdt said. "We could look back on where he's ranked and think, 'Where was that in high school?' or 'What did we miss?' "He's a guy that the jury is out on, in terms of his upside and his potential. The earlier the Michigan coaches can get their hands on him and get a sense for what his full complement of tools are, the better they'll be at getting the most out of him. "I can't think of any examples of en- rolling early being a negative for a kid in terms of their football growth. In general, enrolling early is going to be a bonus for any prospect, and I think that's definitely the case for Newburg." Newburg finished the recruiting cycle as Rivals' No. 35 player in Ohio and he's definitely ready to outper- form that ranking — not that he's still thinking about it. "I'm just ready for everyone's hype to be gone," Newburg said. "Nobody cares about stars anymore." ❏ Gabe Newburg Is Getting A Head Start On Becoming A Better Player STATISTICS Year Tkl. TFL Sacks FF FR TD 2018 44 13 5.5 — — — 2017 60 10.5 7 2 2 — 2016 46 9 6 2 3 1 HONORS • 2018 Division I All-Ohio first-team by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association, honorable mention in 2017. • 2018 USA Today All-State second- team selection. • First-team all-district as a junior and senior, second team as a sophomore. • Eared his team's Leadership Award and the Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award at its banquet in 2018. RECRUITMENT • Pledged to Michigan on April 2, 2018. • Mainly recruited by former assistants Greg Mattison and Al Washington, but head coach Jim Harbaugh also helped. DID YOU KNOW? • He is the youngest son of Northmont wrestling coach Scott Newburg. • As a sophomore wrestler, he posted a 30-4 record with seven pins at 182 pounds, but he did not compete as a junior or senior. • Holds the record for career sacks at Northmont with 20. • Grew up a diehard U-M fan and even has a "Michigan Room" inside his home. THEY SAID IT • Northmont head coach Tony Bro- ering: "Right away, I could tell Gabe was just a great kid and a great student, and this was before I even knew what a great football player he'd turn out to be. He had already impressed me with how he acted in the classroom and by how much he excelled in school, and I knew right then and there he'd be successful long term." GABE NEWBURG DEFENSIVE END 6-5 • 237 NORTHMONT HIGH SCHOOL CLAYTON, OHIO RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — — 35 ✪ ✪ ✪ 990 63* 46 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 62^ 14 * Ranked as a weakside defensive end; ^ ranked as a defensive end 2019 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 2019 Projection Newburg has some position versa- tility because of his athleticism and size. As an early enrollee, Newburg plans to get up to at least 250 pounds by the end of spring ball. That means that his future could be at the anchor defensive end spot or, depending on how his body responds, he could es- sentially become Chase Winovich 2.0. The two are similar in stature and skill set, and Newburg believes he could reach that level and beyond under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Don Brown. He probably won't be needed next fall, but depending on how he devel- ops, learns and performs, he could provide some spot depth immedi- ately, a la Aidan Hutchinson in 2018. Newburg leaves Northmont High as the school's all-time sacks leader with 20. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM MARCH 2019 THE WOLVERINE 63