Newton's Law Is He's Back for More, Always Ready to Compete

With Cam Davis injured and in street clothes, Richard Newton shouldered half of the University of Washington rushing load against Texas in the Alamo Bowl.

He picked up tough yards when needed most against a long and athletic Longhorns defense, supplying the Huskies with a physical backfield presence in their 27-20 victory.

Walking off the field that night in the Alamodome, Newton was kidded that he had resembled the great Earl Campbell at times with his resolute ball-carrying.

"I always run hard," Newton said in all seriousness.

With spring football practice just around the corner, the 6-foot, 212-pound running back from Lancaster, California, will return for a sixth and final season at the UW seeking more yards and opportunity. 

The guy wearing No. 6 is back for year six not willing to be deep-sixed on the depth chart.

It almost seems as if Newton has been around Montlake forever. He redshirted in 2018 when Myles Gaskin was becoming the Huskies' all-time leading rusher. A year later, he rushed for 10 touchdowns in 10 games while backing up Salvon Ahmed.

Expected to be the focal back in 2020, Newton ran afoul of Jimmy Lake's coaching staff and he appeared in just two of the four pandemic-peak games that season, mostly just sitting and watching.

Back in everyone's good graces, he became the UW starting running back for the first three games in 2021, only to get dinged up, held out and return for one fateful play against UCLA, one in which he caught a 9-yard pass and tore up a knee all at once.

Last season, Newton came off surgery and rehab to find three transfers in the backfield mix in Virginia's Wayne Taulapapa, Nebraska's Will Nixon and New Mexico's Aaron Dumas, along with holdovers Cam Davis, Sam Adams and three Texas backs no longer with the Huskies in Jay'Veon Sunday, Caleb Berry and Emeka Mega.