Dazz Newsome is no stranger to being the underdog. It’s been his thing most of his life. He went to the same high school as Allen Iverson and Tyrod Taylor. So he immediately had strong sports legacies to live up to. Then in college, he was always viewed in the shadow of teammate Dyami Brown. Now he’s a 5’10 kid coming to Chicago as a 6th round pick. One thing has always been certain with Newsome. He’ll exceed expectations.
Even if he has to fight his way through every obstacle to do it. That isn’t hyperbole. It is real. There are two things Newsome is never shy about. Talking trash and throwing fists. Don’t believe it? There are stories. Amazing stories. Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune caught up with Newsome’s father Myron. One thing he wasn’t short on was stories of how…aggressive…his son was when he was a kid.
They are nothing short of legendary.
There was the birthday party when Dazz was about 5 or 6 and he received boxing gloves as a gift.
“I said, ‘All right, Dazz, don’t hit nobody,’ ” Myron said. “As soon as I said that, he turned around and punched his cousin right in the face.”
Myron remembered another story from when Dazz was about 2 and Deon was 6, when Myron paid a friend a visit while the boys waited in the car.
“I said, ‘All right, I’ll be right back, I’m going to go talk to Fonzie right quick, my homeboy Fonzie.’ … Next thing I know, Dazz done punched Deon in the nose. Deon gets out the car, hands full of blood. … Like, he’s 2 years old and punched his brother in the nose.
“Deon was messing with him. He went on and stole off on him.”
Well we can’t have that, can we? It is pretty evident that Newsome learned how to fight from a very young age. A necessity given the tougher neighborhood he grew up in around Hampton, Virginia. Didn’t matter if he was the younger and/or smaller guy. If you crossed him, he’d make you pay for it. That is not to say Newsome is a bad person. Far from it. Merely a tough one. Somebody who isn’t scared of anything.
That is the common word his father and other family members used with him. Fearless. He doesn’t care who lined up against him on the field. He’s going to talk. It probably wasn’t an accident when the rookie said the cornerback he wanted to face most in the NFL was Jalen Ramsey. One of the most notorious trash talkers in the league. That speaks to the kind of person Newsome is. Pick out the biggest dog in the yard and bark at him.
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Dazz Newsome checks a big box the Bears of old would love
Virginia McCaskey always said what made that 1985 team so special was their confidence. They were such a cocky bunch. Just not to the point where they didn’t feel the need to work harder than everybody. Newsome is exactly that kind of player. A relentless worker but one who isn’t afraid to tell anybody who will listen how good he is. The only thing left is for him to back it up on the field.
That will be his biggest challenge moving forward. Dazz Newsome isn’t a fool. He stated in his first press conference that he knows where he was drafted. Being a 6th round pick guarantees him nothing. Only an opportunity. It’s up to him to decide what to do with it. The Bears are going to have widespread competition at wide receiver over the next four months. One that could see four roster spots up for grabs behind Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney.
Newsome has plenty of obstacles in the way.
Anthony Miller, Javon Wims, Marquise Goodwin, and Damiere Byrd are just a few of the notable names also vying for those spots. If he’s not careful, he may find himself on the outside looking in. Based on his track record though, if Newsome does go down he’ll go down swinging. Hopefully Wims and Miller, with their recent backgrounds in throwing punches, aren’t foolish enough to try him.
