Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton to enter NFL darft

[Auggie]

Associated Press / 1-13-11

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft after leading Auburn to a national championship and drawing nearly as much attention for a pay-for-play scandal as for his dynamic performances.

Auburn released a statement Thursday night announcing the quarterback's decision following his lone year as a major college starter. Newton led the Tigers to their first national title since 1957 and a 14-0 season with a 22-19 victory over Oregon on Monday night.

LINK: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-14/won-and-done-auburn-qb-cam-newton-to-enter-draft.html

Does he go to Carolina?

[Iggo]

1. Oh my gawd! What a surprise!

I'm totally floored!

[RT Atlanta]

2. Thanks Cam!

Best wishes going forward and War Eagle!

The 3 Amigos: 34, 2 and 7

[Yavin4]

3. What's a "darft"? n/t

[Auggie]

4. Uh... NFL limbo,

brought on by a possible lockout?

:shrug:

[davidinalameda]

5. how much is his dad making off this

[RT Atlanta]

8. Probably the same off the Miss. St. recruitment

which is apparently $0.00

[davidinalameda]

9. how much did he make from Auburn?

[Elwood P Dowd]

10. Nothing, but a former Mississippi State player tried to get his dad some money

from another former Mississippi State player/rich booster to play for the Bulldogs. The NCAA investigation discovered that the former player turned agent, Kenny Rogers, only tried to shake down his own former school. There was zero evidence it happened at the other schools that recruited him -- Auburn, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kansas State. If he got a bunch of cash to play at Auburn, why was Jay Leno joking with Cam about the fact Cam didn't even have a car and rode around town in a small Vespa motor scooter? He didn't even have a damn TV his first few weeks at Auburn and had to visit teammates to watch. The witch hunt about this kid beats anything I've ever seen in sports.

[LisaM]

6. How long was he even there?

I know he transferred. How long was he actually AT Auburn?

[RT Atlanta]

7. 1 year

Enrolled January of 2010 for the beginning of Winter semester.

[madinmaryland]

11. Well, this should be an epic fail. At least Terrell Pryor has had three years of experience

starting, and if he stays, he will have had four years before going pro.

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. Matt Cassel was a benchwarmer at USC and is now a decent NFL QB.

Bart Starr was a part-time player at Alabama and look what he did. Neither one have skills remotely close to Newton's.

He did have two years as Tim Tebow's backup before leaving for JUCO to get some starting time. He led that JUCO team to the National Championship last year. He played one year at Auburn and led them to a National Championship. He had the 2d highest QB rating in the nation, and was the first SEC QB ever to rush for over 1,000 yards, pass for over 2,000 yards, and produce over 50 touchdowns in a single season. That is fucking amazing! He rushed for 65 yards and passed for 265 yards in the BCS National Championship game while playing with an injured back. He led Auburn back from behind in 7 games. They were behind Alabama at Tuscaloosa 24-0, and he brought them back from the dead to win 28-27. He led them on a 95-yard scoring drive to avoid an upset by Kentucky and win on the last play of the game 37-34.

Cam will probably have to learn the ropes and work on his mechanics the first couple of years before he is ready to start, but there is an amazing amount of raw talent there. Saying a EVERY quarterback MUST start for 3-4 in college before he can make it in the NFL is BS in my opinion.

[hughee99]

14. Different skill sets required for the NFL.

Newton, like they others you've named, certainly have the physical skills to play QB in the NFL, but so did JaMarcus Russell, Tavaris Jackson, Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Rick Mirer, Todd Marinovich, etc... Can Newton learn the NFL offense and defenses, learn to makes his reads quickly and correctly, and make good decisions? I don't know if he can or can't, but I don't think you can tell from his performance in college if he'll be able to handle the mental aspects of the NFL. It doesn't matter how good your arm is or how well you run, if you can't handle that part, you'll fail, if you can handle it, you can be successful with lesser physical tools. If Netwon can learn the position well at the NFL level, he could do very well as his physical tools will be a big added bonus.

[Upton]

13. I've seen several recent mock drafts

that have the 49ers taking him at 7. I just don't know if he's the long range solution to their QB problems. There's Gabbert, Locker and Mallett too. Or maybe it might be best if they drafted someone like a shutdown corner if available, Prince Nakamura comes to mind, and then worried about a QB later.

I'm going to trust Harbaugh on this. It's great having him in charge..

[Auggie]

15. I expect the 49ers to sign a veteran QB

like, maybe, McNabb, and draft a QB in the lower rounds. A shut-down corner would be high on my list, though as you suggest, trust Harbaugh.