HAMPTON, Va. - The shape of a football is, technically, a prolate spheroid. Therefore, it's not truly round.
However, for NFL Draft prospect Dazz Newsome, his football journey is coming full circle.
Newsome was a standout for Hampton High School, graduating in 2017. As a Crabbers star, Dazz wore jersey number five.
10 years before Newsome dazzled in that jersey, Tyrod Taylor wore number five for Hampton High. And because Newsome's father was an assistant coach for the program, Dazz was a water boy during Tyrod's stellar high school career - a campaign that featured the program's 17th state title.
Taylor went on to star for Virginia Tech, and he's now entering his 11th season in the NFL.
As for Dazz, he recently completed a phenomenal career at North Carolina. His 182 career receptions for the Tar Heels rank third all-time in program history.
Newsome is currently training for the NFL - and doing so in Atlanta. Among the pros with whom he's working out as he prepares for the NFL Draft in two weeks? His fellow Hampton High School alumnus, Tyrod Taylor.
"I'm really trying not to get too happy until it happens, but it's really crazy," Newsome told News 3 Sports Director Adam Winkler via Zoom this week. "I was a water boy from the time I was seven until my eighth grade year [at Hampton]. I remember, as a kid, looking up to all those older guys. My dad [Myron, who played at Virginia Tech] would take me to Virginia Tech games. I looked up to those college guys. You just wanted to meet them, see what they were thinking and how they lived."
Newsome was obviously impacted by older, successful football players as a youngster.
Friday, Dazz is hosting a pizza party at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula in Hampton where he'll sign autographs and throw the football with children from his hometown.
"I just want to show those kids: no matter where you come from, you can do it," Dazz explained. "Regardless of where you're at or your situation, if you just keep grinding - you can make it happen."
Newsome says he, too, attended the Boys and Girls Club as a child.
