Cam Newton

Wikipedia:

Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is the third player to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, win a national championship, and be the first overall pick in the NFL draft all in the same one-year span, joining Leon Hart (1950), and Angelo Bertelli (1944).

Newton is the son of Cecil Newton, Sr., who was cut as a safety from the pre-season rosters of the 1983 Dallas Cowboys and 1984 Buffalo Bills, and he is the younger brother of Cecil Newton, Jr., a center who currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens.

Newton was initially a member of the Florida Gators before transferring to Blinn College, where his team won a national junior college football championship. Newton was then recruited by head coach Gene Chizik of Auburn University and transferred once more. He became just the third player in major college football history to both rush and pass for 20 or more touchdowns in a single season. His performance earned him the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding college football player, and he led Auburn to their second national championship in school history, despite controversy concerning his eligibility. In his NFL debut, Newton became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in his NFL regular-season opener, breaking Peyton Manning's rookie record.

Collegiate career

University of Florida

In 2007, as a freshman, Newton beat out fellow freshman quarterback John Brantley as the back-up for star quarterback and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. He played in five games, passing for 40 yards on 5-of-10 and rushing 16 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. In 2008, during his sophomore season, Newton played in the season opener against Hawaii but suffered an ankle injury and decided to take a medical redshirt season.

On November 21, 2008, Newton was arrested for the alleged theft of a laptop computer from a student at the University of Florida. He was subsequently suspended from the team after the laptop was found to be in his possession. Campus police "tracked the stolen laptop to the athlete...Newton tossed the computer out his dorm window in a humorously ill-advised attempt to hide it from cops." All charges against Newton were dropped after he completed a court-approved pre-trial diversion program. "I believe that a person should not be thought of as a bad person because of some senseless mistake that they made," said Newton in 2010. "I think every person should have a second chance. If they blow that second chance, so be it for them." Newton announced his intention to transfer from Florida three days before the Gators' national championship win over Oklahoma.

Blinn College

In January 2009, Newton transferred to Blinn College in Brenham, Texas to play for head coach Brad Franchione, son of Dennis Franchione. That fall he led his team to the 2009 NJCAA National Football Championship, throwing for 2,833 yards with 22 touchdowns and rushing for 655 yards. He was named a Juco All-America honorable mention and was the most recruited juco quarterback in the country. Newton was ranked as the number one quarterback from either high school or junior college by Rivals.com and was the only five-star recruit. During Newton's recruitment, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Auburn were his three finalists. He eventually signed with the Tigers.

Auburn University

Newton started the first game of Auburn's season, a home win over Arkansas State on September 4, 2010. Newton accounted for 5 total offensive touchdowns and over 350 yards of total offense. He was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance. Three weeks later Newton had a second break-out game with 5 total touchdowns and over 330 total offensive yards against the South Carolina Gamecocks. "That's a great SEC win against a really, really good football team. I can't be more proud of our guys," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. "I thought we had a good pace going on," Newton said.

On October 2, 2010, Newton led Auburn to a 52–3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. He completed three touchdown passes, one of which went for 94 yards. It was the longest touchdown pass and offensive play in Auburn football history. On October 9, 2010, Newton led Auburn to a 37–34 victory over Kentucky. He passed for 210 yards and rushed for 198 yards including 4 rushing touchdowns. On October 16, 2010, during the Arkansas game, Newton ran for three touchdowns and threw one touchdown pass. Following these performances, media reports began to list Newton among the top 5 candidates to watch for the Heisman Trophy.

On October 23, 2010, Newton led Auburn to a 24–17 victory over the LSU Tigers. He rushed for 217 yards in the game, giving him 1,077 yards for the season, and set the SEC record for yards rushing in a season by a quarterback—a record previously held by Auburn quarterback, Jimmy Sidle, that stood for over 40 years. After this game, Newton became just the second quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in the conference's history. He also broke Pat Sullivan's school record for most touchdowns in a single season—a record that has stood since 1971—with 27. Both of these records were broken on the same play: a 49-yard touchdown run in which Newton escaped two tackles, corrected himself with his arm, eluded two additional tackles, and dragged a defender into the endzone for the touchdown. The play was described as Newton's "Heisman moment". Auburn received its first #1 overall BCS ranking, and Newton was listed as the overall favorite for the Heisman.

By halftime of the game against Georgia, Newton became the first SEC player to ever throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. With the victory, Auburn improved to 11–0 and clinched the SEC West, allowing them to play in the SEC Championship game. Newton led Auburn to a 28–27 victory over Alabama in the Iron Bowl after being down 24–0. The 24-point come-from-behind victory was the largest in the program's 117 year history. He passed for 216 yards with three passing touchdowns and ran for another.

On December 4, 2010 Newton led the Tigers to an SEC Championship, their first since 2004, by defeating South Carolina 56–17, setting an SEC Championship Game record for most points scored and largest margin of victory. Newton was named the game MVP after scoring a career-best six touchdowns (four passing and two rushing). With his performance, Newton also became the third player in NCAA FBS history to throw and run for 20-plus touchdowns in a single season (along with former Florida teammate Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick, who reached the milestone earlier the same day). Newton was named the 2010 SEC Offensive Player of the Year as well as the 2010 AP Player of the Year. He was also one of four finalists for the 2010 Heisman Trophy, which he won in a landslide victory. He is the third Auburn player to win the Heisman Trophy.

Following the victory in the SEC Championship, Auburn was invited to participate in the school's first BCS National Championship Game. The game took place on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona, with Auburn playing against the Oregon Ducks. In a game that Steve Spurrier predicted to score as high as 60–55, Auburn beat Oregon just 22-19 to win the BCS National Championship. Newton threw for 262 yards, 2 touchdowns, and one interception. He also rushed 22 times for 65 yards, though he lost a fumble that later allowed Oregon to tie the game with limited time remaining. Once Auburn received the ball, Newton drove the Tigers down the field to win the game on Wes Byrum's last-second field goal. Media outlets wrote that Newton was upstaged by teammate Michael Dyer (the game's Offensive MVP) and Auburn's defense, which held the high-powered Oregon ground game to just 75 yards On January 13, three days after winning the BCS National Championship, Newton declared for the 2011 NFL Draft, forgoing his senior season.

Eligibility controversy

Newton spent much of the second half of the 2010 football season embroiled in a controversy regarding allegations that his father, Cecil Newton, had sought substantial sums of money in return for his son playing for a major college football team, in violation of National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. In early November 2010, several Mississippi State University athletic boosters reported to the media that, during their recruitment of his son out of Blinn College nearly a year earlier, Cecil Newton said that it would take "more than just a scholarship" to secure his son's services. This demand was communicated by booster and former Mississippi State football player Kenny Rogers to fellow boosters and former teammates Bill Bell and John Bond. Rogers said in a Dallas radio interview that Cecil Newton said it would take "anywhere between $100,000 and $180,000" to get his son to transfer to Mississippi State. Auburn maintained throughout the investigation, which had begun several months before the public was made aware of it, that they were not involved in any pay-for-play scheme and that Cam Newton was fully eligible to play.

On November 30, Auburn declared Cam Newton ineligible after the NCAA found evidence that Cecil Newton solicited Mississippi State $120,000 to $180,000 in exchange for Cam Newton's athletic service, a violation of amateurism. Auburn immediately filed to have him reinstated on the basis that Kenny Rogers could not be considered an agent and that Cam Newton was not aware of his father’s illegal activity. The NCAA eventually sided with Auburn and reinstated Newton the next day on December 1, declaring him eligible for the 2010 SEC Championship Game three days later, stating that there was not sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn had any knowledge of Cecil Newton's actions. Auburn subsequently limited the access Cecil Newton had to the program as result of NCAA findings. Also, due to increased pressure by the media and the NCAA investigation, Cecil Newton announced he would not attend the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. The NCAA reinstatement did not clear Cecil Newton of any wrongdoing; it did, however, establish Cam Newton's eligibility as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, which he won in a landslide victory with 2,263 points and 729 first-place votes.

In October 2011, the NCAA officially closed its 13 month investigation into the recruitment of Cam Newton, unable to substantiate any allegation or speculation of illicit recruiting by Auburn, and concluded that Cecil Newton only solicited a cash payment from Mississippi State and no other institution attempting to recruit his son. The investigation, which consisted of over 50 interviews and the reviewing of numerous bank records, IRS documents, telephone records, and e-mail messages, resulted in no findings that would indicate Auburn participated in any pay-for-play scenario in signing Cam Newton. The NCAA said that the allegations failed to "meet a burden of proof, which is a higher standard than rampant public speculation online and in the media" and that the allegations were not "based on credible and persuasive information". The NCAA's Stacey Osburn said "We've done all we can do. We've done all the interviews. We've looked into everything, and there's nothing there. Unless something new comes to light that's credible and we need to look at, it's concluded."

Awards and honors

College stats

Professional career

2011 NFL Draft

In late January 2011, Newton began working out with George Whitfield Jr. in San Diego. Whitfield has worked with other quarterbacks such as Ben Roethlisberger and Akili Smith. On April 28, 2011, Newton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He was the first reigning Heisman Trophy winner to go first overall since Carson Palmer in 2003. He also was Auburn's fourth No. 1 selection after Tucker Frederickson (1965), Bo Jackson (1986), and Aundray Bruce (1988).

During the 2011 NFL lockout, he spent up to 12 hours a day at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, FL, spending up to two hours per day doing one-on-one training with fellow Heisman Trophy winner and ex-Panthers quarterback Chris Weinke.

Before the draft, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson asked Newton to have a clean-cut appearance after Newton told Richardson he had no tattoos or piercings and was thinking about growing his hair longer. Although this is similar to a policy the New York Yankees has on all of its players, this gained some controversy on Richardson's part due to the fact that other players (most notably Steve Smith and Jeremy Shockey) had visible tattoos and, in Shockey's case, had longer hair earlier in his career with the New York Giants. Reactions were so strong that some even accused Richardson of racism. Despite this, Newton agreed to Richardson's dress code policies as a condition of being drafted first overall.

Carolina Panthers (2011–present)

2011 Season: Rookie Season

On July 29, 2011, Newton signed a four-year deal worth over $22 million that is fully guaranteed. A month later on September 1, 2011, he was named the Panthers' starting quarterback, ahead of Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson. In his NFL debut game on September 11, 2011, Newton was 24–37 passing for 422 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, in a 28–21 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals. With a quarterback rating of 110.4, he also rushed for a touchdown, and became the first rookie to throw for 400+ yards in his first career game. His 422 passing yards broke Peyton Manning's rookie record for most passing yards on opening day.. Cameron Newton's quarterbacks coach is Mike Shula, former Head football coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. He currently wears jersey number 1.

In his second career game, a 30–23 home loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, Newton broke his own record, set the weekend previously, with 432 yards passing, throwing and rushing for a touchdown. Newton's 854 passing yards through the first two games of the season, the most in league history by a rookie, broke the NFL record of 827 set by Kurt Warner in the 2000 season and stood as the most by any quarterback in the first two weeks of the season until New England's Tom Brady broke the mark again later in the day with 940. He also became the only player to begin his career with consecutive 400-yard passing games and broke the Carolina Panthers franchise record of 547 yards previously held by Steve Beuerlein. After Newton's second career game, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers commented "I think someone said in the locker room that I'm kind of glad we played him early in the season because when he figures it out fully, he's going to be even tougher to stop." Newton's three additional interceptions against the Packers tied him for the most interceptions thrown in the league. His total passing yards over the first three games was 1,012 yards.

The Panthers recorded their first victory of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars 16–10. Newton threw for 158 yards and 1 touchdown. The Panthers played the Atlanta Falcons, losing 31–17 while passing for 237 yards with no passing touchdowns. Newton increased his team's record to 2-5 with a week 7 win over the Washington Redskins 33-20. He threw for 256 yards and 1 touchdown, completing 18 of his 23 passes. He also rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown, including one run for 25 yards. This performance brought Cam a passer rating of 127.5, his highest yet. With Carolina's win over the Indianapolis Colts, Newton became the fourth rookie quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards in his first season, joining Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, and Sam Bradford. Newton set the NFL rushing touchdown record for quarterbacks on December 4, 2011, rushing for his 13th touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter against Tampa Bay. It was his third of the game which resulted in a 38-19 win. In that game, he also caught a 27 yard pass from WR Legedu Naanee, making him a triple threat. On December 24, 2011 in a 48-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton threw for 171 yards and 3 TDs and also rushed for 65 yards and a score. In the process, he broke Peyton Manning's record of 3,739 yards passing for a rookie. On January 1, 2012 against the New Orleans Saints, Newton threw for 158 yards and becoming the first rookie QB to throw for 4,000 yards. He finished his rookie season with 4,051 yards. Over the course of the season, when Newton had a turnover, the team was 0-10; when he had no turnovers, the team went 6-0.

On January 22, 2012 Newton was named to be heading to the Pro Bowl after the New York Giants beat the San Fransisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game. Because Eli Manning was one of the three QBs for the NFC to be selected, and with Newton being picked as the NFC alternate later in December, Newton was able to play in the Pro Bowl with Manning headed to the Super Bowl. He finished the Pro Bowl with 186 yards along with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Newton was named both AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year on February 4, 2012. He became the second straight number one pick to win the AP Rookie of the Year, after Sam Bradford won it the previous season. He was also the first Panther to win the Offensive award, but the second Panthers rookie of the year, following Julius Peppers, the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2002. Cam received his Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year awards on the inaugural NFL Honors award show, with 47 of the 50 possible 50 AP votes (the other 3 going to Andy Dalton). He also landed the number 5 and 2 play of the year with his 49 yard TD run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5), and his TD fumblerooski to Richie Brockel vs. the Houston Texans.

On March 22, 2012, it was revealed that during both of the Panthers' games against the Saints, several Saints defensive players had placed a "bounty" on Newton in hopes of knocking him out of the game.

NFL career statistics

NFL accomplishments and records

NFL records

Rookie Records

Records

Carolina Panthers franchise records

NFL Accomplishments

Further Reading