Cam Newton

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Cam Newton
refer to caption
Newton with the Carolina Panthers in 2016
No. 1 Carolina Panthers
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: Template:Birth date and age
Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia
Height:  in
Weight: Template:Convert/numdisp lb/Template:Rnd/c4dec0 kg
Career information
High school: Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia)
College: Auburn, Florida, Blinn
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
Career history
Roster status: Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 13, 2018
TDINT: 182–105
Passing yards: 28,073
Completion %: 59.7
Passer rating: 86.8
Rushing yards: 4,770
Rushing touchdowns: 58
Player stats at NFL.com

Cameron Jerrell Newton[1] (born May 11, 1989)[2] is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. Newton is the only player in the modern era to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, win a national championship, and become the first overall pick in an NFL draft within a one-year span.[3] He was the 2011 NFL Rookie of the Year, is a three-time Pro Bowler, and was named the NFL MVP in 2015.

In his rookie year, Newton broke all-time NFL rookie records for passing and rushing yards. He became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 400 yards in his first game, shattering Peyton Manning's first-game record by 120 yards. He also broke Otto Graham's 61-year-old record for passing yards by any quarterback in an NFL debut.[4] Newton went on to become the first rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season.[5] He also ran for 14 touchdowns, more in a single season than any quarterback in NFL history, breaking Steve Grogan's 35-year-old record.[6]

In 2015, Newton became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 30 touchdowns and rush for 10 in the same season (35 passing, 10 rushing).[7] He also became the only quarterback ever to have 300 yards passing, 5 touchdown passes, and over 100 yards rushing in the same game.[8] Newton capped off the 2015 season by capturing MVP honors and leading the Panthers to a 15–1 record and a trip to Super Bowl 50.

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High school career[edit | edit source]

Newton attended Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia, where he played for the Westlake Lions high school football team.[9] As a 16-year-old junior, he passed for 2,500 yards and 23 touchdowns and ran for 638 yards and nine touchdowns, gaining the attention of major college programs. In his senior year, Newton was rated a five-star prospect by Rivals.com, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, and the 14th quarterback and 28th player overall. He received scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech.[10] He committed to the University of Florida at the beginning of his senior year, becoming part of the top-rated recruiting class in the country for 2007.[10]

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College career[edit | edit source]

University of Florida[edit | edit source]

File:Gators2007QBs.jpg
Newton, far left, with Dan Mullen, John Brantley, Tim Tebow, and Bryan Waggener during his freshman season at Florida

Newton initially attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators football team in 2007 and 2008.[11] As a freshman in 2007, Newton beat out fellow freshman quarterback John Brantley as the back-up for 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.[12][13] In 2008, during his sophomore season, Newton played in the season opener against Hawaii but suffered an ankle injury and took a medical redshirt season.[14][15]

On November 21, 2008, Newton was arrested on felony charges of burglary, larceny, and obstruction of justice on an accusation that he stole a laptop computer from another University of Florida student. He was subsequently suspended from the team.[16] 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."[17] 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."[18] Newton announced his intention to transfer from Florida three days before the Gators' national championship win over Oklahoma. In November 2010, Thayer Evans of Fox Sports reported that Newton faced potential expulsion from the University of Florida for three instances of academic dishonesty, prior to transferring.[19][20]

Blinn College[edit | edit source]

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,[21] throwing for 2,833 yards with 22 touchdowns and rushing for 655 yards.[22] He was named a Juco All-America honorable mention and was the most recruited Juco quarterback in the country.[22] 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.[23][24][25] During Newton's recruitment, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Auburn were his three finalists. He eventually signed with the Auburn Tigers.[26]

Auburn University[edit | edit source]

Newton started the first game of Auburn University's 2010 season, a home win over Arkansas State on September 4, 2010. Newton accounted for five total offensive touchdowns and over 350 yards of total offense.[27] He was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance.[28] Three weeks later, Newton had a second break-out game with five total touchdowns and over 330 total offensive yards against the South Carolina Gamecocks.[29]

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.[30] 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.[31] On October 16, 2010, during the Arkansas game, Newton ran for three touchdowns and threw one touchdown pass.[32] Following these performances, media reports began to list Newton among the top 5 candidates to watch for the Heisman Trophy.[33][34]

File:Cam Newton 2010-11-26.jpg
Newton (top) warming up prior to the 2010 Iron Bowl

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 had 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.[35] He also broke Pat Sullivan's school record for most touchdowns in a single season—a record that had 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".[36][37][38] Auburn received its first No. 1 overall BCS ranking, and Newton was listed as the overall favorite for the Heisman.[39]

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.[40] With the 49–31 victory, Auburn extended its winning streak to 11–0 and clinched the SEC West, allowing them to play in the SEC Championship game.[41] 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.[42]

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Newton led Auburn back from a 24-point deficit to defeat rival Alabama.

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.[43] 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).[44] 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.[45][46] He is the third Auburn player to win the Heisman Trophy (along with Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson).[47]

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.[48] In a game that Steve Spurrier predicted to score as high as 60–55,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Football Scoop |url=http://www.footballscoop.com/news/3063-the-latest-from-mack-brow

  1. "Fodder: Best Cam Newton headlines". al.com. Cam Newton's middle name. It's Jerrell, by the way. 
  2. Auburn Tigers: player bio for Cameron Newton, "PERSONAL – Born May 11, 1989 ... Son of Cecil and Jackie Newton."
  3. Vida, Jason (April 13, 2011). "Cam Newton's potentially historic draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 16, 2011. 
  4. "Ron Rivera praises Cam Newton". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 12, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011. 
  5. "NFL Rookie Season Passing Yards (as of 2011 NFL Season)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2013. 
  6. "Rushing Touchdowns by an NFL Quarterback in a season". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2013. 
  7. Peter King (January 6, 2016). "2015 NFL Awards: MMQB panel picks MVP, top rookies, best coach - The MMQB with Peter King". The MMQB. Retrieved February 8, 2016. 
  8. "Cam Newton's historic day: 340 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, 5 TDs". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016. 
  9. Dukes, Deidra. "Carolina Panther and Westlake High Alum Cam Newton Super Bowl Bound". WAGA. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 Cameron Newton. Rivals.com. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  11. "Cam Newton College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  12. Aschoff, Edward. NFL draft 2011: Tracing Cam Newton's journey to the NFL. ESPN. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  13. "Cam Newton 2007 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  14. "Hawaii at Florida Box Score, August 30, 2008". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  15. Timanus, Eddie (October 22, 2010). "Auburn system suits quarterback Cam Newton well". USA Today. 
  16. Jeremy Fowler (November 21, 2008). "Backup QB Cameron Newton arrested for possession of stolen property, suspended from team". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. 
  17. "Cam Newton, Lame Laptop Thief".  thesmokinggun.com.
  18. Gulbeau, Glenn (October 20, 2010). Template:Webarchive. Shreveport Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved on November 25, 2011
  19. Evans, Thayer (November 9, 2010). "Source: Newton left Florida after cheating scandal". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on February 10, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2016. 
  20. Thamel, Pete; Glier, Ray (November 9, 2010). "Newton Faced Suspension at Florida". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2016. 
  21. Clark, Matthew (December 7, 2009). "Newton leads Blinn to title". Morning Sun. 
  22. 22.0 22.1 Schlabach, Mark. NFL draft 2011: Tracing Cam Newton's journey to the NFL. ESPN. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  23. Cameron Newton. Rivals.yahoo.com (December 31, 2009). Retrieved on July 1, 2011.
  24. Recruit search. Rivals.yahoo.com. Retrieved on July 1, 2011.
  25. 2010 Prospect Ranking. Rivals100.rivals.com. Retrieved on July 1, 2011.
  26. Smith, Erick (September 11, 2010). Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops on recruiting Cam Newton: 'Didn't notice anything". USA Today. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  27. "Arkansas State at Auburn Box Score, September 4, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13. 
  28. "Cameron Newton Named SEC Offensive Player Of The Week". Auburn Football. September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2011. 
  29. Maisel, Ivan (September 26, 2010). "Cam Newton powers Auburn to 4–0 start". ESPN. 
  30. "Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn Box Score, October 2, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13. 
  31. "Auburn at Kentucky Box Score, October 9, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13. 
  32. "Scoring Summary (Final) Auburn Football No. 12 Arkansas vs No. 7 Auburn (Oct 16, 2010 at Auburn, AL)" (PDF). CSTV.com. Retrieved October 28, 2010. 
  33. Heismanpundit (October 12, 2010). "The Heisman Pundit Heisman Poll, Week 6". HeismanPundit.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011. 
  34. Smith, Erick (November 17, 2010). "Heisman Watch: Auburn's Cam Newton continues to lead". USAToday.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. 
  35. "LSU at Auburn Box Score, October 23, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  36. Forde, Pat. "Cam Newton steps up against LSU". ESPN. Retrieved October 23, 2010. 
  37. Evans, Thayer. "Cam Newton is super against LSU". Fox News Channel. Retrieved October 25, 2010. 
  38. Scarbinsky, Kevin. "Cam Newton has a Heisman Moment". Birmingham News. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved October 23, 2010. 
  39. Lindsay, John. "Heisman: Auburn's Cam Newton stays atop SHNS Heisman Poll". E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2010. 
  40. Goldberg, Charles. "Halftime stats: Auburn's Cam Newton becomes first SEC player to throw for 2,000 yards, run for 1,000 in a season". Birmingham News. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved November 13, 2010. 
  41. "Georgia at Auburn Box Score, November 13, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  42. "Auburn at Alabama Box Score, November 26, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13. 
  43. "South Carolina vs Auburn Box Score, December 4, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  44. Schlabach, Mark. "Cam Newton puts stamp on title game". ESPN. Retrieved December 7, 2010. 
  45. "Four finalists named for Heisman Trophy". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved December 7, 2010. 
  46. Smith, Erick (December 11, 2010). "Auburn quarterback Cam Newton captures Heisman Trophy". USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2010. 
  47. "Heisman Memorial Trophy Winners". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-27. 
  48. Russo, Ralph. "Auburn, Oregon give BCS title game new look". AL.com. Alabama Media Group. Associated Press. Retrieved December 5, 2010.