Former South Effingham standout sees game in new perspective at Savannah State
The college football season can’t get here quickly enough for Savannah State University defensive end Makenly Newbill.
The former South Effingham High School standout represented the Tigers at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Football Media Day on July 13 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
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All the talk ignited the senior’s emotional fire.
“After all that, I was ready to play,” Newbill said. “I wished we were starting the week preparing to play on Saturday. … Going to an event like (media day) tells you the season isn’t far away.”
Newbill, an all-conference first-team performer last season, was an integral part to a defense that ranked sixth among 169 NCAA Division II schools in total defense (249.8 yards a game), ninth in passing yards allowed (145.2 yards a game) and 19th in scoring defense (allowing 17.6 points a game).
The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder led SSU with 10 tackles for losses (29 tackles and 3.5 sacks overall) despite being slightly undersized in the trenches.
He was the conference football player of the week after recording 2.5 tackles for losses, a sack and four total tackles in a 49-14 homecoming win against Clark Atlanta on Oct. 16, 2021.
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“We went around and saw about 15-20 media and they wanted to know how we were going to keep our success going, how we were going to keep elevating the program,” Newbill said about SSU’s 8-2 record — the school’s first eight-win season since 1994.
Apparently, there were at least a few skeptics in a voting by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. After placing second in the SIAC’s East Division in 2021, the Tigers were picked to drop a notch into third this season behind defending champion Albany State and Benedict.
A year ago, SSU defeated Benedict 41-34. The SSU Tigers led by three touchdowns (34-13) in the third quarter.
“You don’t want to be second to no one, but when I heard we were picked behind Benedict, I was kind of shocked. I thought, ‘Oh, we have a situation here,’ ” Newbill said. “I’m passionate about what I do, and every game I step in, I plan to win.”
Newbill wasn’t second individually in SIAC preseason accolades, again earning first-team, all-conference honors from the coaches and SIDs.
But the criminal justice major, who plans on graduating in December, hasn’t been focused on individual honors.
“My goal is always to elevate and go as far as God wants to take me,” he said.
Newbill’s journey began at South Effingham, where he played football and basketball.
“We had a great coaching staff at South Effingham and I learned the “whys” of defense,” Newbill said. “Once I understood the “why,” it wasn’t hard to do my job.”
He averaged a double-double in basketball as a senior.
And given a unique opportunity, Newbill added another double on his resume: playing in an all-star football game during the day before hustling back to compete in a Mustangs basketball game later in the evening.
Brothers play close to home
He earned a football scholarship to Valdosta State University. But when his mother Vanessa, was stricken with COVID, Newbill and his brother Makenzy (a linebacker at Shorter University and now playing at SSU) returned home to help.
“She’s doing much better now,” Makenly said.
Newbill now has high hopes of a memorable season at SSU. The season kicks off Sept. 3 against Southeastern University at T.A. Wright Stadium.
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But, for Newbill, it started with an eye-opening preseason trip with teammate offensive lineman Kyle Frazier and first-year head coach Aaron Kelton discussing Tigers football to league media.
In his first time at the College Football Hall of Fame, Newbill saw memorabilia of Shannon Sharpe, who played at Savannah State in the 1980s before going on to a storied career in pro football.
“(Being a part of media day) to represent Savannah State was humbling and an honor,” Newbill said. “It was definitely an experience.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah State football DL Makenly Newbill has new perspective on game
