Lawrence (KS) Free State defensive lineman Tai Newhouse, who committed to Tulsa during an unofficial visit back in June, has helped his team to a 6-2 record this season while dominating on the line of scrimmage.

"I have a strong base which allows me to get knock-back against the offensive line," Newhouse recently told Inside Tulsa Sports. "I’d also say I’m good at block shedding."

Through the first seven games of this season, Newhouse racked up 62 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, three sacks and one forced fumble. That is more than double the production he had in his abbreviated six-game junior season, where he netted 30.5 stops and one TFL.

The all-state lineman and wrestler also had strong interest from Northwestern, Wyoming, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State before committing to the Golden Hurricane.

TU had a bit of an edge in Newhouse's recruitment, however, as coach Jesse Williams, who has 32 years of college coaching experience, joined the Tulsa staff to coach the defensive line in February after spending the 2020 season as an assistant for the Free State football program.

"As for committing early, that was because of the (coaching) staff," Newhouse said. "Defensive line coach Jesse Williams coached with Free State last year. It’s not very common to have a chance to play big time college ball with your high school coach. Not to mention how kind the coaches were when I first went down there.