Kevin Newsome

Newsome earned an associate degree in General Studies while attending Tidewater Community College in Virginia after announcing his intent to transfer from Penn State in August 2011. He verbally committed to Temple University as a transfer in January 2012 after sitting out the 2011 season. Newsome, after also considering Richmond and Hampton, officially signed a letter-of-intent with the Owls on February 1, 2012, but was not able to officially transfer until after graduation in July 2012. Temple head coach Steve Addazio said Chris Coyer, the starting quarterback for the Owls late in the 2011 season, will be the starting quarterback over Newsome before entering training camp in 2012. He spent the 2012 season as the third-string quarterback, and was expected to be moved to halfback before he decided not to return to football in 2013.

With a possible transfer still looming, Newsome ran the second-string offense with redshirt freshman Paul Jones during spring practice, behind first-stringers Bolden and McGloin. Coach Paterno commented that Newsome had "to do a little better job in the classroom. He's a bright kid, but he has a tendency once in a while to not pay attention to the academic part of it. Until he does, I'm not going to count on him." In the Blue−White game on April 16, 2011, Newsome went 3-for-7 for 22 yards, and Paterno said Newsome was third on the depth chart. Newsome was expected to compete with Jones for the third-string quarterback position before the 2011 season, but after Jones was declared academically ineligible for the season on July 29, Newsome's competition remained Shane McGregor for the number three quarterback job. However, on August 4, Newsome left the Penn State football team and sought a transfer. In an interview following his transfer from Penn State, Newsome said he felt "depressed" after receiving notice that he would not be the starting quarterback.

Following Daryll Clark's graduation, Newsome was expected to compete with Matt McGloin and freshman Robert Bolden for the starting quarterback job in 2010. In the Blue-White game on April 24, Newsome went 5-for-12 for 50 yards and took three sacks.

For the season, Newsome went 6-for-13 for 78 yards and had 13 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. It was reported on December 9, 2010, that Newsome planned to transfer from Penn State following the season due to a low amount of playing time during the season. Paterno said about Newsome's possible transfer, "We think he's a fine prospect. Having said that, at this stage, he's not quite as far along as the others." Newsome did not make the trip to Tampa, Florida for the team's Outback Bowl appearance against Florida on January 1, 2011. However, Newsome enrolled in classes for the spring, and decided to stay with the team.

Newsome enrolled at Penn State in January 2009 in order to prepare for the academic and athletic rigorousness before camp began. He took part in winter conditioning and spring practice before the 2009 season began, in an attempt to become the top backup to starter Daryll Clark. In the Blue-White scrimmage on April 25, Newsome played for both teams and went 9-of-13 for 71 yards, and threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brett Brackett.

In 2009, Newsome went 8-for-11 for 66 yards overall, with a completion percentage of 72.7%. He rushed for 95 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdown. He averaged 4.75 yards per carry. He was one of only eight true freshmen to play for Penn State in 2009. He played in every game of the 2009 season except for the Iowa and Ohio State losses and the 19-17 Capital One Bowl victory against LSU.

At Western Branch High School, Newsome lettered in football and track and field. In his junior year of football, he passed for more than 1,600 yards and twelve touchdowns, and rushed for more than 500 yards and eleven touchdowns. Participating in track and field as a sprinter and hurdler, Newsome was ranked fourth in the nation as a hurdler and earned All-America honors while becoming a high hurdle state champion twice during his junior year of high school. Newsome helped to bring home first place honors while running last leg for Western Branch High School in the 2008 Penn Relays 4x1 meter relay championship race, and was the captain of the track and field team. As the only freshman on his track and field team, he finished tenth at the Virginia state championships. Newsome served as the president of his junior class and earned a 3.7 GPA, while becoming a member of the National Honor Society.

Kevin Leonardo Newsome, Jr. (born January 21, 1991) is a former American college football quarterback from Portsmouth, Virginia who played for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2009 to 2011, and for the Temple Owls football team in 2012.