TCU Football: Hodges, Newton Named To Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List

This annual award recognizes a defensive player who had the biggest impact on and off the field.

TCU Athletics

Let the Watch List Season begin. Spring football is behind us. The 2023 season doesn’t kick off for more than three months. However, as anticipation grows for the next season, more and more of the annual postseason awards will start to announce their watch lists for the upcoming season.

Earlier this month, the first watch list was released. TCU linebacker Johnny Hodges and cornerback Josh Newton were both named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list.

This award is named after NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and awarded to the defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, a player who had the biggest impact on his team on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity, all characteristics exhibited by Lott during his illustrious career. Each year, the winner is selected by a national voter panel of former winners, media members, coaches, and members of the Board of Directors of the IMPACT® Foundation.

This award is available for any player who catches a pass; hence tight ends, slot receivers, and backs, inside receivers, wide receivers, split ends, and running backs are all eligible. It is presented annually by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. The award is named after Fred Biletnikoff, who played at Florida State University and then had a 14-year NFL career with the Oakland Raiders from 1965 to 1978.

Jerry Hughes, a TCU defensive end, won the Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2009.

Last year’s award went to Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama. In addition to Hodges and Newton, other Big 12 players on the watch list include Cobee Bryant (Kansas, cornerback), Ben Bywater (BYU, linebacker), Josh Celiscar (UCF, defensive end), Jaylan Ford (Texas, linebacker), Collin Oliver (Oklahoma State, defensive end), and Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma, linebacker).

For the complete watch list, click here.

Hodges was the 2022 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and second-team all-conference. His team-best 87 tackles, which included 9.5 for loss, were the most by a Horned Frog since Garret Wallow had 90 in 2020. Hodges was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week after a season-high 11 stops, including 1.5 for loss, as TCU held Texas to no offensive touchdowns and just 199 yards of offense in a 17-10 win in Austin. He had ten tackles in wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and five stops, including one for loss, in the College Football Playoff Semifinal victory over Michigan.

TCU's Sonny Dykes was the only FBS head coach to offer Hodges a scholarship when he transferred from Navy.

Newton was First-Team All-Big 12 in his first season at TCU. He started all 15 games and ranked second on the team and in the Big 12 with 12 pass breakups, trailing only teammate and 2022 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award winner Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson (15). Newton tied for second at TCU with three interceptions, including one returned 57 yards for a touchdown in a win over Iowa State. Newton totaled 35 stops on the year. He had three tackles, including one for loss, in the CFP victory over Michigan. He recorded a tackle for loss at Colorado on the season’s opening play and his first snap as a Horned Frog.

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