University Southern California Trojans
David Newbury Getting His Kicks In At USC
September 19, 1999 | Football
Sept. 19, 1999
What do London, Joe Montana, Corsicana, Tex., and USC all have in common? The answer: David Newbury.
"My dad is from London, England," said Newbury, USC's junior placekicker. "When he first came over to the U.S., he lived in Indiana. Well, the first football game he ever saw was the 1978 Cotton Bowl between Notre Dame and Houston. His company in Indiana had a wager with a company in Houston over the game. Joe Montana pulled out the victory in the end and my dad was the one who had to go down to Houston to collect the winnings. He met my mom there and later they moved to Corsicana, where I was born."
Lucky for USC that Notre Dame pulled that one out. Irony of ironies, the Trojans can credit the Irish for helping to improve their special teams. They also gained a fan at Notre Dame's expense.
"My dad was a huge fan of Notre Dame until now," said Newbury. "He used to hate USC. But now he's been completely turned around. Things are different when you have your son on the team."
Gerry Newbury, David's dad, was an outstanding soccer player who signed with an English professional team at the age of 16. The kicking genes passed down from father to son and David grew to become a good player in his own right. His first love was soccer, but when a young man grows up in Corsicana, Tex., (pop. 22,000) football is king.
"Soccer was everything to me," said Newbury. "But growing up in East-Central Texas is just like that movie 'Varsity Blues.' Everyone looks up to the football players. Ever since I was little I went to varsity football games. Those guys were like demi-gods. Everyone would rally around them. The last person in town would turn the lights out on the way to the road football games. Most of my friends played football, so I gave it a try."
Newbury played a variety of positions at first- quarterback, safety, receiver. But it was as a kicker that he seemed the most natural. His first ever kick-off went for a touchback. He was in seventh grade.
"It's not as good as it sounds," said Newbury, laughing. "The entire receiving team was up at the 30-yard line. I kicked it over their heads and it landed on the 10 and rolled into the end zone. But that's when I knew that kicking was going to be my thing."
Newbury did the townspeople proud while playing for Corsicana High. He made the All-District team twice and kicked some big field goals in his career. As his senior year wound down, many Division-IA colleges were courting him for his services. Unfortunately for David, most of them wanted him to join as a walk-on. He felt he deserved better.
"I didn't want to sell myself short," said Newbury. "Some Division- II schools offered me full scholarships, but my dream was to play big-time college football."
That dream had to be put on hold for a year. Newbury enrolled at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana in 1998 and made an immediate impact. He nailed 26-of-27 PATs and hit three game-winning field goals. One of them, a 40-yarder, was against Trinity Valley Community College, then the No.1 junior college in the country. Newbury's exploits soon became known to several big-time programs.
"After my senior year of high school, we didn't really know how the whole recruiting process worked," said Newbury. "My brother started making tapes of me kicking. He sent them to a bunch of schools, including USC. (Special teams coach) Shawn Slocum became interested and he started calling me soon after."
Not everyone was so courteous.
"Florida wrote me a letter which read ' You have neither the talent nor the raw athletic ability to compete in our conference. Our conference recruits the best and you're not the best.' When they found out I had a verbal commitment to USC they called me back and apologized," said Newbury. " They tried to get me to take a trip there but I said, 'No thanks, USC has been loyal to me, so I'll be loyal to them.' I saved that letter, though. I'd give anything to play Florida sometime in the next three years in a bowl game, kick the winning field goal and hand Steve Spurrier that letter. All that did was really, really motivate me."
UCLA also told him he wasn't good enough.
"I'll never forget that feeling you get when someone tells you you're not good enough," said Newbury. "I can't wait to play UCLA."
In his first attempts as a Trojan, against Hawaii, Newbury kicked field goals of 48 and 34 yards. He was also eight-of-eight on PATs. He added another field goal and three PATs last week versus San Diego State. After a less-than-stellar fall camp, his performance has been a pleasant suprise to many. Now, the job of kicking field goals is his to lose.
"I must have kicked the ball 300 times that night in Hawaii, including warm-ups," said Newbury. " I was exhausted afterwards, but it helped to take a lot of the pressure off of me. I don't have to look over my shoulder so much anymore."
"I feel more relaxed now."
So do the Trojans.
