Defensive line, Illinois, 2020–23
Jer’Zhan Newton
- Number
- No. 4
- Height
- 6′2″
- Weight
- 295 lb
- Class (2023)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Saint Petersburg, FL
- Born
- Aug 31, 2002
Jer’Zhan Newton played defensive line at Illinois (2020–23). The Washington Commanders took Newton in round 2, No. 36 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
8tackles, career hightwice; last vs. Michigan State, 20222sacks, career hightwice; last vs. Northwestern, 2023Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Illinois | 4 | DL | Yr 1 | ||
| 2021 | Illinois | 4 | DL | Yr 2 | ||
| 2022 | Illinois | 4 | DL | Yr 3 | ||
| 2023 | Illinois | 4 | DL | Jr. (Yr 4) | 6′2″ | 295 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2023 Illinois 12 games, 52 tackles, 7.5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. Toledo | W 30–28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 8 | at Kansas | L 23–34 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 16 | vs. Penn State | L 13–30 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 23 | vs. Florida Atlantic | W 23–17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | at Purdue | L 19–44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 6 | vs. Nebraska | L 7–20 | 7 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | at Maryland | W 27–24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | vs. Wisconsin | L 21–25 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | at Minnesota | W 27–26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 11 | vs. Indiana | W 48–45 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 18 | at Iowa | L 13–15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs. Northwestern | L 43–45 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
2022 Illinois 12 games, 56 tackles, 5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27 | vs. Wyoming | W 38–6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2 | atIndiana | L 20–23 | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 10 | vs. Virginia | W 24–3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 22 | vs. Chattanooga | W 31–0 | 8 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | atWisconsin | W 34–10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | vs.Iowa | W 9–6 | 7 | 4 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | vs.Minnesota | W 26–14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 29 | atNebraska | W 26–9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 5 | vs. Michigan State | L 15–23 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Nov 12 | vs.Purdue | L 24–31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | at Michigan | L 17–19 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 26 | atNorthwestern | W 41–3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 Illinois 12 games, 50 tackles, 3.5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28 | vs.Nebraska | W 30–22 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 4 | vs. UTSA | L 30–37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 11 | atVirginia | L 14–42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs.Maryland | L 17–20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 25 | atPurdue | L 9–13 | 4 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Oct 2 | vs. Charlotte | W 24–14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 9 | vs.Wisconsin | L 0–24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 23 | atPenn State | W 20–18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 30 | vs. Rutgers | L 14–20 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 6 | atMinnesota | W 14–6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 20 | atIowa | L 23–33 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 27 | vs.Northwestern | W 47–14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 Illinois 7 games, 23 tackles, 1.5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31 | vs.Purdue | L 24–31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 7 | vs.Minnesota | L 14–41 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 14 | atRutgers | W 23–20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 21 | atNebraska | W 41–23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 5 | vs.Iowa | L 21–35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 12 | atNorthwestern | L 10–28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 19 | atPenn State | L 21–56 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2024 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′1⅝″ |
| Weight | 304 lb |
| Arm length | 32⅜″ |
| Hand size | 9½″ |
| Wingspan | 75⅞″W |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
2 seasons, 26 games with a stat; latest team: Washington Commanders.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Washington Commanders | 13 | 43 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | Washington Commanders | 13 | 37 | 5 | 0 |
| NFL career | 26 | 80 | 7 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.