Brian Newman could have stayed at the Division II school in Michigan. There, he had a football scholarship and a budding role in the offense as a speedy wideout. But the Houston native wanted something different.
"My dream was always to play Division I football," he said.
That's what caused Newman to leave Hillsdale College after two seasons and enroll at Tulane with tuition and other expenses totaling more than $70,000 per year coming out of pocket as a walk-on football player.
He played only on scout team and did plenty of that he called "grunt work" during that first season, and his second season -- one that appeared to have some promise at the start of fall camp -- quickly ended with an an ACL tear in his right knee roughly two weeks into preseason practices.