The gravity of the decision isn’t lost on Sevier County quarterback Cooper Newman.
The Class of 2027 standout knows that in roughly eight months’ time, he’ll probably be preparing to sign with his college football program of choice, and that some time between now and then he’ll have made his all-important commitment.
But Newman’s level-headed approach to the game and, well, life itself allows him to balance the weight of such a choice with an appreciation of the journey to it.
“It’s crazy to think about how fast it’s flying by. I know I still have one more year, and I’m going to enjoy that, the summer and stuff,” Newman said. “But, really, this is my last year. There’s nothing else to fall back on. I got to leave it all on the field this year.”
Newman has been setting official visits here of late, so 5Star Preps checked in with him to learn more about those schools, his relationship with them, his outlook on them and anything new that might be cooking with his recruitment…
A LOOK BACK
Newman erupted in 2024, leading the Smoky Bears to a 5A title and 5Star Preps Offensive Underclassman of the Year honors.
He led Sevier County back to the Class 5A state title game this past season. While the program didn’t repeat as state champions during his junior year, Newman still penned a strong 2025 chapter to his career, throwing for 3,705 yards and 45 touchdowns against four interceptions.
He wound up winning 2025 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football, the first for Sevier County since 2000.
Since then, Newman has put a concerted effort into enhancing his frame while also juggling the spring camp circuit.
“I’ve been working out super hard, hitting that and working on my speed and stuff. I’m to about 210 now, weight wise,” said Newman, who is 6-foot-3. “That’s where I want to be, but just continuing to add muscle to that.”
Newman attended the Elite 11 Quarterback Regional in Indianapolis on Feb. 28.
But he also went to a Nike Regional Camp in Atlanta in early March. That allowed him to see where his abilities stacked up against elite defensive players from around the country in a 7-on-7 setting.
“I feel like I did great. The drive that I led, we scored in three plays, so you got to give credit to those receivers going up and making those plays,” Newman said. “But it’s like, these windows — they talk about how these windows (for throwing) are going to be way smaller in college. And they will be. But you kind of get a first look at that at these camps, where you can see, ‘Hey, can I make these throws?’ And I think I was able to.”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Newman began pocketing college offers late in Spring of 2024 and into the early summer of the same year. Gardner Webb offered in mid-May of 2024, as did Virginia Tech. That fall, he paid unofficial visits to Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt and then to Florida in January 2025.
Programs like North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Bowling Green, Marshall, Toledo and Appalachian State offered Newman in the Spring of 2025, the latter half of Newman’s sophomore year at Sevier County. He also made Spring 2025 unofficial visits to Georgia Tech, Duke and Missouri.
He visited North Carolina, Michigan State, Northwestern and Virginia Tech in June 2025 and also picked up an offer in June 2025 from Northwestern.
Maryland got in the mix with Newman in June 2025, tendering an offer to him on June 20.
During the 2025 season, Newman made game day visits to Northwestern, Michigan State, and Georgia Tech.
UConn offered Newman on Jan. 1, 2026 while Charlotte (Jan. 20), Cincinnati (Jan. 27), MTSU (Feb. 20), Georgia Southern (Feb. 25) and Georgia State (Feb. 26) followed suit.
Maryland re-offered him in early March while Troy hopped in late with an offer on March 7. Newman visited spring practice at Georgia Tech on March 13.
Now, Newman has set three of his allotted five official recruiting visits: Maryland (late May), Georgia Tech (June 5-7) and North Carolina (June 12-14).
“I talked to (North Carolina) really early on,” Newman said. “I had some recruiting guy, who was really close to me, is actually the one who came down and offered me in the spring of last year. And he ended up leaving (North Carolina). So it was kind of quiet for a little bit. But then their (general manager) touched base with me again and their (quarterbacks) coach gave me a call a couple of weeks ago. They’re starting to get back on the train with recruiting, which is super cool. It was obviously good enough for me not only to set up an official visit but I’ll be going up April 10 for their spring practice. I’ll be able to sit down with Coach (Bill) Belichick and all those guys to see where I stand and what their plan would be with me.”
North Carolina hired six-time Super Bowl championship coach Belichick in December 2024.
Newman admitted: Belichick’s knowledge and history of success with coaching Tom Brady is definitely alluring.
“I do think it’s a pretty big deal, to be honest,” Newman said. “I mean, it’s Bill Belichick. He coached Tom Brady, and he can get you to the next level, which is everybody’s goal. He has all those relationships with NFL scouts and stuff. If it’s worked at the pro level, I think he’s now getting his feet under him at the college level. And it’s definitely intriguing to think about: that he wants me to come play for his team.”
As far as Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets have been in on Newman for quite some time.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, a former Tennessee assistant coach under Jeremy Pruitt in the late 2010s, is now the quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech and has been recruiting Newman “really hard,” per Newman.
“I really like Georgia Tech. They’ve been recruiting me for a long time, probably the longest of the schools that are talking to me right now,” Newman said. “I’m really excited for that (official visit), as well.”
Maryland head coach Mike Locksley made a switch on his offensive coordinator in February 2026, bringing in Jacksonville State offensive coordinator Clint Trickett to replace Pep Hamilton.
Trickett, a former West Virginia quarterback, had actually been hired by Arkansas in mid-December of 2025 to be its quarterbacks coach before opting to take the Maryland OC job just a couple months later.
“They had an offensive coordinator change, but I’ve been consistently recruited by them,” Newman said. “It’s kind of funny. I was getting recruited by Arkansas for a little bit, and then their QB coach left to be the OC at Maryland. So it just picked up right there. They’ve called me on the phone this week, and they’re going to be my very first OV (official visit). It’s at the very end of May. I’ll be going down there April 18 for their spring practice. So that’s the only other OV I have set up.”
Newman will visit family in West Virginia during Easter weekend and plans to stop by Marshall and watch a scrimmage there.
“I still have two OV spots open if there happens to be any other schools that come in last second,” Newman said.
While schools like Georgia Tech, Maryland and North Carolina stay in constant contact to relationship-build with Newman, he’s doing his homework on them, as well, with film review, practice visits, and campus visits.
His research is quite profound.
After all, the decision warrants it.
“Oh, I dive into it pretty deep. You want to look at the quarterback room (at each school) first of all and just see what kind of quarterbacks they want to have in their system,” Newman said. “Luckily for me, all three of the schools that I set up OVs with have pro-style quarterbacks who have proven they can win at the biggest stage — which is big for me; you’re only going to rub off on the people you’re around. It’s nice to see that.
“And also, these practices are very beneficial to me, to see what it looks like first hand — all the offenses and how they run practices. Because I think the good thing about how we have it here at Sevier County is: we run really good practices. So you’re able to see … you could come watch us practice one time and see that we’re a legit team that could win games. It’s just kind of looking at all kinds of stuff like that (with colleges), to kind of see, because it’s the biggest decision of my life that I’m going to make here soon. You really have to look at all these little things that are going to factor in.”
Article written by Jesse Smithey, 5Star Preps. To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc., visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code HAMMERS for 30% off your first year or month subscription.
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