Martavious Newby, a 6-3, 215-pound guard on the Ole Miss basketball team, was spotted in shoulder pads and a helmet earlier this week at spring practice.
Newby does not really have a basketball frame, and I'm sure head coach Hugh Freeze will be excited to have him, as Newby will play linebacker for the Rebels. He also brings SEC Championship experience, in basketball, for whatever that's worth.
“We got to get him acclimated and figure out how to line up,” Freeze told The Clarion-Ledger. “He hasn’t been in a single meeting. He wouldn’t know if it was Monday or Thursday if we put him out there right now. Hopefully this spring we can get him in some contact drills and some individual (drills) and see what we think about him, and go from there.”
Newby was offered a scholarship by Freeze when he was at Arkansas State.
“Thought he was really talented, and he is,” Freeze said. “He’s athletic. It’s been a while, so we’ll see how he adjusts to this speed of this league. But he looks the part. He’s built right.”
We'll have to see if he can handle the rigors of an SEC football schedule. Newby, who will be a sophomore next year, averaged 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds per game with the Rebels this season in his freshman year.
