Sevier County High School linebacker Parker Newman was named 5Star Preps Defensive of the Year (2025), presented by Jeremy Cox/THRIVENT FINANCIAL.
BY JESSE SMITHEY
Todd Loveday, the head football coach at Sevier County the past five seasons, doesn’t mull for long when asked to conjure a “wow” moment he has experienced while watching Parker Newman play.
He immediately reflects on a 2025 Class 5A second round playoff matchup with Walker Valley.
In the days leading up to the contest, Loveday and Sevier County assistant coaches alike heard the 6-foot-5, 210-pound linebacker talk about a certain pass play that Walker Valley might call and that, if the Mustangs did run it, he would intercept the pass.
“He said it all week,” Loveday recalled.
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Sure enough, early in the third quarter of that Nov. 14 game, Walker Valley lined up in shotgun formation. Three wide receivers to the right. Two to the left. Upon the snap, the slot receiver darted horizontally towards the sideline as if to start a wheel route while the middle receiver in the trips-right bunch faked a vertical route and came back for the dump-off screen pass from the quarterback.
Newman read it.
The ball had barely left Walker Valley quarterback Chase Stephens’ right throwing hand when Newman was already en route to the point of the catch. Newman arrived to the ball at the same time as 6-3 receiver Roman Eulo, and Newman ripped the ball away and raced in for a 35-yard touchdown return.
Sevier County went ahead 28-7, and Newman’s film study paid its dividend.
“He’s just that kind of kid,” Loveday said. “Film study. He and a group of guys come in (to watch). They started doing that with (former Sevier County linebacker) Tyler Mann last year. They’d start coming in on Sundays — on their own. We don’t ask them to come in on Sundays. And they start breaking down film. We get there on Mondays, and guys like (Parker), Cooper (Newman) and Jaxson (Perry), they’re talking about the game plans before we even present it to them.”
That level of maturity fueled Parker Newman’s entire 2025 body of work, one that led to him being named 2025 5Star Preps Defensive Player of the Year.
Coming off a 2024 Class 5A state title and a season full of personal accolades, Newman knew he would be counted on even more as a leader of the 2025 defense, as well as in his offensive role as a wide receiver in a highly touted offensive unit led by Power Four quarterback prospect Cooper Newman.
By season’s end, Sevier County had reached the BlueCrowl Championship game once again, and Newman had amassed 117 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, four interceptions, two interception-return touchdowns, one fumble-recovery touchdown and eight pass breakups. Offensively, he had 78 catches in 15 games for 1,059 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
Newman earning all-state honors shocked no one, and his intent to be an even more physical player in 2025 led to results.
“Physicality. My freshman year, I kind of invited and took the hit. Sophomore year was a big jump. I felt like, this year, I not only invited the contact but I went and met it and forced it and created it — whether that was in the backfield or the line of scrimmage or even in coverage,” Newman said. “A lot of these schools and colleges want me to be a hands-on, reroute-technique kind of guy (on defense) in space and matchup with tight ends and running backs.
“I even asked Coach (Dakota) Cogdill and our defensive coordinator Coach (Mark) Chait if I could play more man (coverage) this year. I said, ‘You can trust me. I’ve worked on it.’ And they did. And I think that’s one of the main things with me and my coaches is the trust that they put into me and allow me to play the way I do.”
This winter, Newman, once again, is a key figure for the Sevier County boys’ basketball team — a program that, last year, won 26 games and fell one point shy of making a Class 4A state tournament appearance. This year, the Smoky Bears are once again in the mix for prime seeding in the District 2-4A Tournament and have a renewed outlook of success after a recent win over Alcoa.
Meanwhile, Newman is juggling the increasing load of his college football recruitment. In the last couple of weeks, programs like Michigan, Virginia, Mississippi Stat, Texas Tech, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Memphis, and Maryland have joined the chase for his services, while other programs like Duke, Liberty and South Florida got in on him early.
Some schools want Newman as a linebacker or in a star position, a certain hybrid-rover type player who can mirror a blend of linebacker and safety.
Others want him as a tight end.
His athleticism, skill set, intelligence and productivity spark the imagination of recruiters in different ways.
Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Ty Howle on Jan. 21, after having watched Newman run routes, asked to see him dunk a few balls inside Sevier County High School.
“Of course, Parker says ‘sure.’ He gets changed and then hammers a couple (of dunks) right in the middle of a P.E. class,” Loveday recalls with a laugh.
“Coach said: ‘We’re offering him anyway, but that’s kind of what I thought I’d see.'”
As Newman works toward that ultimate decision, perhaps the waters will become less murky and a defined position will be there for him with the school of his choice.
But until then, Newman will continue to grind.
This phase of his journey won’t derail his pursuit of continued growth and betterment in the intricacies of the sport.
“Me and his dad grew up together. I’ve known him my whole life. I’ve always known about the mentality part (of Parker) — just the maturity and the day-to-day grind part,” Loveday said. “Nothing fazes him. Nothing ever intimidates him. In the best way possible, he thinks he’s the best guy out there.
“And what I saw this year from him, all these college coaches say, ‘Give me an adjective to describe him.’ I said, ‘He’s our alpha, 100 percent.’ In 27 years, he’s the most alpha dude we’ve had. Some people might think that’s a jerk word. But he’s really good to the freshmen. He never has a bad day, practice wise. He had to work to that. He goes about his work. He’s got a plan. He’s got a purpose.”
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS
2025 — Parker Newman, Sevier County, LB
2024 — Antwain Burdine, West, DB
2023 — Ryan Scott, West, LB
2022 — Ryan Scott, West, LB
2021 — Walter Nolen, Powell, DL
2020 — Grey Carroll, Alcoa, DL
2019 — Kalib Fortner, Central, LB
2018 — Xavier Washington, Central, DB