When Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy in 2010, the Auburn Tigers’ standout had a fantastic individual season. Newton had one of the best individual seasons in modern college football, earning the Heisman Trophy and a BCS National Championship.
As college football fans recall, Newton’s recruiting to Auburn was quite the story, especially given the alleged amount of money thrown around. Newton, who is now a YouTuber, spoke with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay to discuss his current circumstances.
Newton, of course, attended JUCO after being ejected from the University of Florida. Then he chose Auburn over Mississippi State, and “two sources said Cam Newton and his father took money to go to Auburn,” Newton added. He then claimed that the two sources were Dan Mullen and his wife.
“When I came to Auburn, my mentality was solely focused on success, and I was trying to catch up to Joe Hadens and Maurkice Pounceys who were already in the league…” “I’m looking for the quickest way to get to the league,” Newton explained. He stated that Auburn had over 20 seniors returning, and he wanted to play somewhere “that could get me to a BCS game.” Of course, his path at Auburn brought him to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, when the Tigers defeated the Oregon Ducks for the national championship.
Newton claimed his father told him he needed to “be a man” and call Mullen to explain his decision to attend Auburn. He claimed he wanted to “be a man” and contact him, and while he and Mullen debated it, Newton said “it was just too good to be true” to attend Auburn, where there were 22 seniors.
Later, when the controversy gained traction, head coach Gene Chizik and his family had a talk. But, while Newton assumed everything would be alright, Chizik conveyed the issue to them. A perplexed Newton couldn’t believe it when Chizik claimed they went to Auburn for $180,000.
“I ain’t ever seen a thousand dollars, let alone $180,000 to $200,000,” Newton said with a laugh.
The former Heisman winner stated that his father “Jumped on the grenade” to allow him to participate. “Without blinking, I’ll take it,” Newton stated about his father’s attitude. “I will do it for my son.” Is he going to be eligible to play? “I’m fine,” he said. Newton then claimed that he had been advised that his father would not be allowed to attend the wedding.
“And to this day, it has been said that during the Heisman ceremony, they said, ‘I think it’s best not to show up for that.’ “I took that personally,” Newton remarked about his father. “I remember hesitating after winning the Heisman, and I didn’t want to be there; I wanted to be with my father. I wanted to be with my family because it was an opportunity to impress my father. To thank him, and my father challenged me every day. ‘Oh, that’s not right. ‘You must be a male.’ I’m seven, eight, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, seventeen, and still in college. ‘You must be a man! … “Take responsibility, take accountability!”
Newton proceeded. This was me showing him, ‘Pop, I’m acting like a guy! Look at me; see what you’ve produced, guy! This is us! This isn’t just me; it’s not Cam Newton! This is for our entire genealogy, the Newton name, and what you created. Let me share this with you! “Everyone was excited, but they took that away from me.”
Newton took it all personally, and as a result, he declined to attend the Heisman Trophy presentation. He maintains that his father has never returned to Auburn and will not attend the Heisman ceremony. “They didn’t care about my family,” Newton explained.
Despite the issues, Newton’s feelings appear justified. So, this was clearly within limitations.
