Robert Wundu Sowa Newcombe (born August 8, 1979) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

that started for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

Collegiate career

As a sophomore in 1998, Bobby Newcombe started at quarterback and led his team to a 9-4 record and a No. 19 ranking nationally in spite of suffering from a knee injury in the first game that would plague him all season long. During the season, Newcombe led

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

in passing yards with 712 and had 228 rushing yards while completing 50-of-79 passes and throwing just one interception. The 6-0, 195-pound native of Albuquerque, New Mexico also recorded eight rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown, while his longest run from the line of scrimmage was 20 yards. Newcombe's longest pass play covered 49 yards to wide receiver Matt Davison against Texas A&M on October 10, 1998. One of Newcombe's most memorable moments for individual game performances came on August 29, 1998 when he completed 9-of-10 passes for 168 yards including a 46-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sheldon Jackson in a 56-27 shootout victory over

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

which was televised nationally. Newcombe was replaced at quarterback by

Eric Crouch Eric Eugene Crouch (born November 16, 1978) is a former American football quarterback. He also is a TV sports analyst and recreational equipment vendor. Crouch played college football for the University of Nebraska. In 2001 Crouch won the Heisma ...

the following year as Crouch would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2001. Newcombe would finish his career as a return man and wide receiver for the Cornhuskers. His four seasons at Nebraska had him totalling 45 receptions for 660 yards with three touchdowns. He also added 48 punt returns for 829 yards which included three touchdown returns. One of those three touchdown returns went for 94 yards against

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

on September 30, 2000 which set a Huskers school record.

Statistics

Professional career

Newcombe played football professionally in the

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for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

for one season. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, but wound up playing wide receiver in Canada at the slot receiver's position in 2002.

Personal life

Newcombe now resides in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

and works as the head coach at Casteel High School. In addition to his education at Nebraska, he has also earned several degrees from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...

, including a

Doctor of Management The Doctor of Management (DM or DMgt) is an applied research doctorate (or professional practice doctorate) with a degree focus in management, leadership, and organizational topics."

References

Additional sources

* Lindy's Big-12 Football - 1999 - Volume 13, p. 136, 174-175 * nebraska.statepaper.com - June 30, 2001 article titled "Bobby Newcombe puts Nebraska Behind Him" {{DEFAULTSORT:Newcombe, Bobby 1979 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Sierra Leonean players of American football Arizona Cardinals players Montreal Alouettes players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players High school football coaches in Arizona University of Phoenix alumni Players of American football from Albuquerque, New Mexico Coaches of American football from New Mexico Players of American football from New Mexico