Perhaps the least surprising Heisman winner in history is now official. Despite being totally ignored on 105 of 886 returned ballots, Auburn’s Cam Newton rolled to the fourth biggest victory in Heisman history Saturday night.
Now comes the hard part, if you believe the doubters. Can Newton hold onto it? Or will he follow 2005 winner Reggie Bush’s embarrassing path and be forced to return it because of NCAA violations over his recruitment?
This is the dark side of Newton’s victory, the side the player labeled, “My trying times,” during his acceptance speech.
It forced his father Cecil to stay away from what should have been the College Park, Ga., family’s proudest moment, since Cecil is at the center of this cesspool of a story regarding whether or not Mississippi State, Auburn or anybody else paid Cecil the money he was reportedly requesting to sign his son.
Said Cecil earlier in the week in explaining why he would not attend, “[My presence] might rob Cam and the event of a sacred moment.”
Perhaps to that end, the preacher’s son Cam Newton first thanked God for the award, then his mother Jackie, then Auburn coach Gene Chizik for, “Giving me a chance.”
Throwing in a nice touch, he added, “I’d also like to thank the troops who are fighting for our freedom every single day.”
Then came a quote that his detractors will surely pounce on, whether they should or not. Said Cam, “My parents do a lot of things that go unnoticed.”
What the vast majority of Heisman voters — including all three from this newspaper — noticed was that Newton’s career on the field had no peer. Among those who listed Newton somewhere on their three-vote ballot, he was the top pick of 93 percent of them.
Without the controversy, it’s not a stretch to believe he might have surpassed O.J. Simpson’s 1968 win as the most overwhelming in history.
In truth, Newton not winning the Heisman would have been a bigger surprise than Florida choosing Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as its new head football coach.
Anyone check out Muschamp’s defense this season? It surrendered 31 points a night in its seven defeats. By comparison, Newton accounted for nearly 23 points a game all by himself, a remarkable total.
“This is a phenomenal young man,” said Chizik. “He has all the intangibles.”
Here’s a tangible point to consider: What if everyone who doubts Newton is wrong? What if he really is as clean as he says?
Much of the hysteria surrounding Newton’s Heisman candidacy had its roots in the notion that the player was as good a year ago or two years ago as today. And certainly a player good enough to account for 49 touchdowns in 13 games wouldn’t just be worth $180,000 — his father Cecil’s rumored asking price — but perhaps 10 times that.
But that’s not the player Mississippi State and Auburn recruited. The Cam Newton who led Blinn Junior College to a juco national championship was damaged goods, having exited Florida under a suspicious cloud of academic woes and an arrest for possessing a stolen laptop.
Given those dynamics, it’s not so difficult to imagine neither State nor Auburn being willing to pay a dime for his services, much less $180,000. Forget NCAA rules. Instead, merely focus on common sense.
The Cam Newton that signed with Auburn was an uncertain commodity, quite possibly the outrageous talent he became, but also quite possibly an outrageous waste of talent, and therefore not worth risking either money or NCAA scrutiny to acquire.
This isn’t to say that two years from now the NCAA won’t strip Auburn of its SEC title and that the Heisman Trust won’t request that Newton to return his little bronze statue.
All that could happen. And almost no one will be surprised if it does.
But if it doesn’t, if this is the end of it, what a shame that Cecil Newton missed his son’s semi-sacred moment. What a shame that a story that could have been so inspirational — a one-time SEC washout travels through junior college to win the Heisman — has instead become so controversial.
“I’m a living testimony that anything is possible,” said Newton.
Sadly, that notion that anything regarding the Newton soap opera was possible is what kept 105 Heisman voters from considering him at all.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com and 423-757-6273.