‘Country is going to be Country’: The story of Mizzou football’s Triston Newson
Triston Newson called his shot.
Five months before his third and final season at Northeast Mississippi Community College began, current Mizzou linebacker Newson and his head coach at the time, Greg Davis, walked outside to the practice field.
It was a beautiful spring day in Mississippi. You can probably imagine it: The temperature hovered in the mid-60s; sunshine poured down onto the field.
It was a perfect day for football practice.
“Coach,” Newson said to Davis as the two made their way to the field, “I’m about to have a breakout year.”
Davis had heard that exact same thing from many of his players, and rarely did it pan out.
“Man, that’s great,” Davis said. “I hope you do.”
He did. Coming off a mediocre 37-tackle season in 2021, Newson tallied 10 tackles in the scrimmage that day alone — a sign of things to come. He finished the 2022 season with a team-high 107 — ranking third among all junior college players — plus a team-high nine tackles for loss, two sacks, four forced fumbles, a team-best three picks and four pass breakups.
Newson earned NJCAA Division 1 First-Team All-American honors and was named the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference Defensive Player of the Year that season. It marked quite the honor for the Coldwater, Mississippi, product who came from a small, rural town of just more than 1,300 people.
Growing up, Newson lived in the backwoods and was always interested in doing “country things” that kept him out of trouble. Through and through, Newson embodied the country lifestyle.
That makes his nickname, “Country,” all the more fitting.
He played football at Independence High School in Coldwater and had the traits of a naturally gifted athlete. Newson excelled at linebacker but could line up anywhere his coaches needed him to.
In one game during his senior year, Independence’s quarterback cramped up and couldn’t play, so Newson took over and led the offense down the field to set up a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter.
“That was an amazing thing,” Newson’s high school coach, Richard Russo, said. “He could just do it all on the field.”
His athletic ability was not limited to football. Newson also played basketball and ran track, but with those multi-sport commitments, the rising talent could not spend as much time in the weight room as his coaches wanted. So, even with the talent, Newson had a tall, slender build.
That light physique did not hinder Newson in high school, evidenced by his video-game-like numbers in his senior season. In that final prep campaign, Newson totaled 152 tackles, 13 sacks, 37 tackles for loss, 44 quarterback hurries, seven forced fumbles, four interceptions, five pass breakups, two defensive touchdowns and two blocked kicks.
The smaller stature might have limited his post-high school options, however. Newson attracted just a few junior college offers, opting to take his talents to Northeast Mississippi Community College to play football.
He spent three seasons with the Tigers of Booneville, Mississippi, sticking around for one more year than what is typical for a junior college athlete because of the COVID-19 exceptions.
Even at Northeast Mississippi CC, Newson possessed too small of a build to start immediately at linebacker. But he still made an impact as a stalwart on the special teams unit.
Off the field, Newson emerged as one of the hardest workers and practically lived in the weight room. He entered the program weighing 190 pounds with a max bench press of 185 pounds but left the school as a 225-pound linebacker who could bench 245.
While most players went home for an extended weekend with Northeast Mississippi CC’s four-day school weeks, there’d be little doubt where “Country” was.
“We didn’t have any classes on Friday, and that kid would still stay the weekends up there (in Booneville),” Cedric Shell, Newson’s linebacker coach, said. “He would get a little extra work on the field, get a little extra work in the weight room, and he’d get out there and run and stay in shape and do the little things.
“He had a vision to get to the next level.”
Newson’s work wasn’t limited to the field or the weight room, either. Oftentimes, at the pregame meal, he could be found sitting by himself, studying the opponent on his iPad 30 minutes before kickoff. Wherever he was, Newson had his eyes set on becoming a better player.
That didn’t overshadow his ability to be a strong teammate, though. Newson added a lively spirit to the locker room, making him a well-liked presence with both coaches and teammates.
“He’s got that funny side to him,” Shell said. “There’s never going to be a dull moment with him. He’s going to crack jokes, and he’s going to smile the whole time. He’s going to be smiling ear to ear. He loves his teammates, and he loves the locker room.”
Considering Newson’s development in the weight room and the jump in production he had between his second and third seasons at NEMCC, it did not shock many when FBS schools across the country started to take notice. Troy became the first to extend an offer to Newson after watching him in practice.
“They told me, ‘Coach, we don’t have a linebacker like that on our team,’” Davis said.
Other schools were quick to follow. His initial top five consisted of pre-Deion Sanders’ Colorado, Troy, California, Washington and Arizona State.
Mizzou also did its due diligence, but Tigers linebacker coach D.J. Smith initially couldn’t get in touch with Newson. Smith called Davis to inquire about whether everything was all right.
“‘I think everything’s fine,’” Davis recalls telling Smith. “‘He just doesn’t have cell service where he lives.’”
That was Smith’s introduction to “Country,” and before long, Smith wanted Newson in a Missouri uniform. The Tigers encouraged Newson to visit Columbia, but he was reluctant because it was far from home.
Eventually, coaches convinced him to go watch the Tigers play, and Newson fell in love. He left town with an offer. Newson was sold on Mizzou, but one thing stood in the way.
“‘I don’t want my mama to pay for school,’” Newson told Smith, who was visiting the linebacker in Mississippi.
Smith laughed. “Well, son, you’ve got a full scholarship.”
That was that. “Country” would be a Tiger.
“He was pumped,” Shell said. “He had braces then, and you could see him smiling ear to ear because he got that SEC offer.”
In two seasons with Missouri, Newson has totaled 98 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 1½ sacks. In the Tigers’ Week 11 win against Oklahoma, Newson sealed the victory with a strip sack of Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold late in the fourth quarter. Tigers defensive end Zion Young scooped up the fumble and returned it for the game-winning TD.
Newson finished the contest with 10 tackles, 2½ tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. He was named the SEC’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
“It’s no surprise he’s doing that for (Mizzou) because he did a lot of those things for us,” Shell said. “(Making big plays) was something he was doing for us. He was the heart of our defense.”
At 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Newson will return to Mississippi for the Tigers’ matchup against Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.
Coldwater is just over two hours from the Bulldogs’ campus, meaning that Newson will have a packed fan section in a homecoming of sorts for the graduate; it’ll be a game that matters to him, both in terms of where he’s playing but also whom he is lining up against.
Neither Mississippi State nor Ole Miss offered Newson out of Northeast Mississippi CC. It’s hard to imagine Newson wouldn’t have opted for the opportunity to represent his home state, if given the chance.
“I can’t speak for the kid, but I’d imagine that if Mississippi State or Ole Miss offered him, he would have gone to either school,” Davis said. “For Mississippi kids, those are the two pinnacle places in the world.”
“It’s going to mean a lot to him,” Shell said, “just because he is back home, playing on his own turf. I know he’s going to have his whole family there supporting him.
“I think he’s going to have a little bit, a tad bit, of, ‘You guys didn’t offer me, so I’m going to show you.’ But ‘Country’ is going to be ‘Country.’ He’s going to ... do what he needs to do to help Mizzou win the game.”
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