WON & DONE: Newton headed to NFL
The news that most Auburn fans fully expected — but didn’t want to hear — dropped Thursday night.
Heisman winner Cam Newton is going pro.
“This decision was difficult for me and my family,” Newton said in a university release. “After talking to Coach (Gene) Chizik and Coach (Gus) Malzahn, I think it is best that I make that next step in my career and forgo my senior season and enter the NFL Draft.
“It was a very hard decision for me, especially after coming off the great season we had at Auburn. I’m blessed to have been around an excellent environment and have great teammates, coaches and support from the Auburn family.”
Newton, who started his college career at Florida and transferred to Auburn from Blinn (Texas) College, made quite the impression in his one year with the Tigers.
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound quarterback rushed for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns, threw for 2,854 yards and 30 scores — not to mention catching a touchdown pass — and helped lead Auburn to a 14-0 season and a BCS National Championship, its first national title since 1957.
Newton broke Auburn single-season records for rushing touchdowns (20), passing touchdowns (30), touchdowns responsible for (51), total offense (4,327) and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,473).
He became the Tigers’ third Heisman Trophy winner — after Pat Sullivan (1971) and Bo Jackson (1985) — was a consensus All-American, was named the Walter Camp and Associated Press National Player of the Year, won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top player and the Davey O’Brien Award as the country’s top quarterback.
“We appreciate Cameron’s many contributions to Auburn and the outstanding leader that he was for our football team,” Chizik said. “He had one of the greatest individual seasons ever by an Auburn player and was a key part of our championship run. Cam will always be a member of the Auburn family and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Newton’s draft status rose astronomically during his Heisman season, and current projections have him going nearly anywhere in the first round, depending on how soon a team wants to take a chance on his outstanding natural ability combined with some question marks in his mechanics and decision-making.
There’s also the matter of his past.
Newton was arrested and charged with purchasing a stolen laptop when he was at Florida and reportedly had academic dishonesty run-ins during his time with the Gators.
Newton’s father, Cecil, was found by the NCAA to have participated in conversations about a pay-for-play scheme during his son’s recruitment to Mississippi State last year, but the NCAA also determined that Cam and Auburn had no knowledge of those conversations.
The academic dishonesty allegations were never proven either.
“I can only tell you what I do know,” Chizik said of Newton on Tuesday. “And everything I know is very positive and he is a great young man and we did everything right.”
Chizik said repeatedly during the season that Newton was the most talented player he’d ever seen, and it would be difficult to overstate the quarterback’s impact on Auburn.
Even if it only lasted a year.
“It’s been a blessing for me to be a part of something so great,” Newton said. “Any time you win games it’s a big deal, but for this school to win a BCS National Championship, what a way to make people happy. Auburn is a special place that I can call home.”
dmorrison@oanow.com | 737-2568
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