He was a member of the football, baseball, basketball, and track teams, earning a medal as the best all-around athlete at the school.

[4] Upon leaving Hendrix at the age of 18, Newton worked for the government on the Mississippi River between Vicksburg and Natchez as a foreman of a group of laborers building willow mattresses for use in levee construction.

[7] Newton was a prominent halfback for coach William G. Kline and James Van Fleet's Florida Gators football team from 1921 to 1924.

"The coming of coach Kline (and heavy pressure from the alumni for a winning football team)" brought players from "the University of Oklahoma and the western states" such as Ferdinand H. Duncan and Newton.

[8] Newton allegedly first attended a practice just to watch, and the mere sight of him was so impressive, he was offered a uniform and coaxed onto the field by captain Tootie Perry.

[13] In 1922, Florida suffered a setback early with a 7–6 loss on opening day to Furman due to Newton's missed extra point.

[14] The 1922 season featured the Gators first game against a traditional northeastern power as the team traveled to play Harvard.

[15] In a 58–0 defeat of the Mississippi College Choctaws, the highlight of the game was Newton's run of 72 yards in the second quarter.

[26] Newton, captain Robbie Robinson and Goldy Goldstein were the first Gators ever to make the composite All-Southern team.

[9] Florida scored on an illegal play which went unnoticed, a pass from Edgar Jones to Spec Lightsey, who had lined up at tackle.

The team was notable for the number of players from Georgia Tech, but also included two fellow former Gators, linemen Cy Williams and Goldy Goldstein.

[32] On June 20, 1926, Newton married one Ora Belle Simmons of Conway, whom he dubbed "the prettiest girl in Arkansas.