The entire world by now knows exactly of Cam Newton, which can happen to be helpful towards his draft status two months from now. The first thing that comes to mind, as the nation suddenly confides in the gifted prospect of the 2011 NFL Draft ready to ascend to new heights on the pro level, is that scouts and executives are judgmental of a player's ills and poor choices in the past.
After all the corruption, all the fears, all the secrets and all the utter troubles that almost truly smeared the Auburn Tigers marvelous season with his illicit issues and hypocrisy to epitomize how badly the NCAA system is tarnished, he wasn't expected to be a common name mentioned to be selected in the first round.
He's now a humble-minded draftee and, as a result, is equipped to play and blend in well at the quarterback position by next fall, even more so prepared to contribute with a franchise in serious need. This would be considered an opportunity, a fortunate chance, a lustrous chance for Newton to soar in the NFL as an extolled superstar.
There he is, as expected, absorbing the attention longer than usual, almost coincidentally so, with the annual scouting combine beginning next week, the laborious preparations that challenges the odds of logic and physically, a typical theme to bring out the durability and audacity in the top prospects.
Inclined to make the transition from college to the pros, thirsting to excel at greater stakes for lots of fame and profit in playing the game they deeply relish, Newton declared for the 2011 NFL Draft.
As if this was a way to escape the inescapable of accusations of an alleged scandal that his father, Cecil, auctioned his son when he played for Auburn, Newton is a surefire first-rounder and rated as the highest of any other quarterback in the draft.
Whatever team selects Newton in the first-round, most definitely, he's anticipated by many that he is NFL-ready and can carry a substandard team to the next level, knowingly with the versatility, speed and awareness he implements in the game. Back on campus at Auburn, where he was relentless and turned around the program's psyche because of his leadership, he was a mellowed leader and handled the adversity calmly.
Had he chosen to stay in school, it would have been a great lost for the limited quarterback class when Andrew Luck opted to return to Stanford for his senior season after turning down millions. He took much abuse at Auburn, during a remarkable season that was absolutely the moment when he boosted his draft stock, for his father's poor judgment but wasn't held accountable or inflicted with a punishment.
As in any scandal, the NCAA probed the incident and easily ruled Newton eligible for the BCS National Championship Game, an awesome night for which he improved his status and became newsworthy for the NFL, only if the league doesn't encounter a repulsive lockout as the two parties would have to reach an unanimous deal on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement by early March.
At first glance, Newton is one quarterback with many weapons capable of rising and then impressing people as a rookie, a probable rarity like no other after drawing attention from delirious fans in the deep South. Because it's Newton, a competitor in college football last season who earned his notability by awful publicity, he is very well favored to be a rookie standout, raw and crafty to solidify whatever franchise picks him for their quarterback.
Whether he's proven or unproven down the road, more experienced and skilled to perform on the same turf with professionals and longtime veterans, he'll still be strongly projected to be a top-tier star in the league. But for now, in particular, if he desires to go off the boards high, he'll dictate when he lands by how brilliantly and effectively he competes in work outs and interviews for teams next week before the day he is drafted, even after he's still hunted by the stupidity and deceptiveness that happened involving his father when he ostensibly had no idea of his father's sins as a way to fool the unsound system.
By all accounts, plenty of players before his arrival to college were accused of infractions in regards to the disingenuousness and hysteria in college sports, from the sordid agents to improper benefits to overly workouts. So now, in clarity, he faces a slew of insignificant questions come next week, attempting to address painful subjects, which could disrupt his ability to perform in front of thousands of scouts or even focus for the tricky and rather difficult Wonderlic exam.
To think we debate, with clarity, on whether or not Newton will find success in the NFL, on whether or not he'll shift the dynamics, and on whether or not he can have an immediate impact in his first season, we can only find out when the combine ends, an event he plans to fully partake in. He said he wants "to be transparent" during the entire draft process. As of now, he is no longer an Auburn product, but the smoke from his father's pay-for-play scheme still follows him into the NFL, adding to the fire and could also lower his stock, even when he has an advantage simply for being one of the top quarterbacks in this year's draft, if not the best.
He won the Heisman award and fled Auburn when he declared for the draft, using his noggin to no longer face the scrutiny and trauma from the universities, he rewarded himself freedom and peace, glad to feel a sense of humanity, proud to reach a climax by turning pro and wishes to release the agony after revelations came forth that Newton clearly tried to receive $180,000 he solicited from Mississippi State.
What matters the most now, if he blows away scouts on the money-making days, if he does well in the drills and workouts to prove worthy of a first-round selection, is that he climbs beyond his potential and earns a righteous starting job in the NFL, regardless of his father's dreadful incident. This could be entirely a new turning point for Newton, though his crooked father almost ruined his son's chances to go off the boards in the first round.
That's appealing, particularly when executives and scouts from the NFL won't glance at Newton until late in the NFL Combine at Indianapolis, only because he's a junior. Meanwhile, he is incredibly quick and has stamina to stay balanced, blessed with the capacity and knack to last in the league for a very long time and has played brilliantly to deliver downfield passes or even race to the end zone.
He was, of course, the face of Auburn after leading the Tigers to the national scene, in which they prevailed to win the national title. Surely, he is a considerable size for a number of teams that have shown interest in Newton, knowingly realizing he achieved an education, eager to venture off towards the highest level in the game he truly cherish.
He is a talented prospect, no matter what the critics think of his father's scam or no matter if he vastly violated the rules for the accusations, with beautiful footwork and a rifle-armed as one of the greatest pocket passers discovered this era, the art of craftiness and natural abilities. Rest assured, he's not a resemblance of JaMarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf, which tells us he's not the next bust and we shouldn't believe so, not really when he rallies his team in huddles and always battle with toughness, urgency and energy, all the components of a team leader.
The next time he plays, in September as usual, he won't have to hear the criticism when the accusations won't matter to the pros, starting off with a spotless imagine and his father won't have to plot a foolish deal in order to qualify for a paycheck that remains prohibited in NCAA rules. But nobody had ever grasped the assumption that he only attended college for one reason, and one reason only. He attended school to turn pro someday and, in truth, it has suddenly happened after all the dismay at the end of his college career.
There is an NCAA investigation still pending, while teams have second thoughts scared to take a gamble on such a fabulous player, uneasy about investing millions with the possible ramifications in the making if awful evidence leak out from the investigation.
Remember, he was accused of stealing a laptop when he went to the University of Florida. And remember, he had an incident when he allegedly turned in a paper with another student's name on it. But in the end, we all make stupid mistakes, a boneheaded decision that we absolutely regret later in the years. As a kid, we all screwed up. So did Newton.
The honest truth is that the general public believes in Cam, which leads me to believe. "YES WE CAM!!"
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