An Unabashed Love of Cameron Newton

I love Cam Newton. There, I said it. He may be my favorite non-UGA college football player ever. I know; I should hate him. I should hate him as much as I hated Tim Tebow, more than I hated Jason Campbell, at least as much as I hated JJ Reddick. But I don’t. Not even a little bit. Not even at all.

After the first time I watched him play, in his SEC season debut against Mississippi State on a Thursday night, I called my dad and asked him if he had watched Auburn play. I told him that Auburn had something special; I was impressed not only with his play, but with his postgame interview. He said all the right things, he had a flair about him, and he gave a shout-out to Urban Meyer’s kids. He hasn’t done anything to make me like him less. A lot of people (read: everyone I know who isn’t an Auburn fan) are on the I hate Cam bandwagon. A lot of people think he is a smug asshole, that he is too cocky, and that he seems to have the biggest ego in the world. I think he is just a kid having fun playing football. He is the best player on the field all the time and he knows it. Is that a reason to hate him? But, I’m not here to get in the whole “did he know his dad was trying to get paid” or “should we give him the Heisman” debates here (we should give it to him, by the way). I just want to talk about what a great football player he is.

A lot of times these days, people seem to forget the past really quickly. It seems like every year there is a new greatest player ever, a new greatest game ever, or the best something. Maybe I’m suffering from early onset dementia here, but I honestly think that Cam Newton is the best college football player I’ve ever seen play. He just seems to amaze me on almost every play. You could make an argument that Tim Tebow was better at picking up a tough 2-5 yards when he needed to but as far as an all around quarterback, there just hasn’t been anyone else even close in the past twenty years. Vince Young, Charlie Ward, Tim Tebow and the others were nice, but if I had to pick a quarterback to play for me in one game, I’m picking Cam hands down. He can throw the ball, he can run the ball inside, run it outside, and he is a leader. What more could you want in a college quarterback?

You hear a lot of times that players these days, with their combination of size and speed, would run roughshod over football players from olden days. Clearly there were those type of guys that did that (Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson come to mind), but Cam Newton is doing it now. I don’t know that we have ever seen anyone in any sport have the combination of size, speed, strength, and athletic touch that Newton has shown this season. When I was watching the SEC championship the other night, they showed a clip of the Ole Miss game where Cam made a Randy Moss type touchdown catch in the endzone. It dawned on me, as I was watching it, that I’m not sure there is a position on the field that Cam couldn’t play in the SEC. Receiver or Tight End? Definitely. Running Back or Fullback? Not even a question. He might need to bulk up a little to play on the O-Line, but I would take him right now and the D-Line or at linebacker (he is 3 inches taller than Justin Houston and only 9 pounds lighter, in case you were wondering). I absolutely think he could do work as a safety too. Luckily, we get to watch him play quarterback and have the ball in his hands on every play. He makes the games exciting, even if you have no vested interest in them. I for one, have enjoyed it all along and am excited to watch him play one more game in college. Most outstanding college football player this year? Definitely. Most outstanding college football player of my lifetime? I’m pretty sure of that too.