Ranked a four star (24/7) recruit out of Parkway North in St. Louis when he signed. Newsom flew under the radar when he signed in 2012. Partially because of the overall talent in Missouri, (7 Four-stars or higher in 2012) and because he was going to a Missouri team that had just signed Dorial Green-Beckham.
After a redshirt year and a freshman season that he spent mostly on special teams, Newsom developed into a talented linebacker that manned the middle of the defense in 2015 when the Tigers held claim to a top five defense in the entire country.