Auburn's Cam Newton and Allegations

Auburn's Cam Newton and Allegations: Don't Panic, Tiger Fans, It Means Nothing

By

Nathan Deal

(Auburn Featured Columnist) on November 4, 2010

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In case you haven't heard, Cameron Newton seems to be the center of controversy as it has been revealed a potential agent told Mississippi State Newton had a price tag.
While some seem to be making a big deal out of this, there is somebody who begs to differ: Gene Chizik. On the weekly Tiger Talk show, he started it off by saying, "I will tell you this: Cameron Newton IS eligible to play football at Auburn University." He didn't hesitate. He said it with authority. So much that the crowd in attendance went into a frenzy.
Cam is a Tiger. Enough said. He hasn't received a cent from any slimeball pimp that calls itself an agent (yes, I side with Saban on this one). He hasn't done anything wrong as a Tiger. Heck, he hasn't done anything wrong since that fateful day in November.

All this is is some guys from Mississippi State are angry Newton didn't sign. The guy probably did say they need to pay for Newton. So what? Newton wasn't even involved, this was some criminal (yes, you deserve to be in jail for trying to get money out of Mississippi State) trying to steal money, basically, from MSU.
Relax, Auburn fans. The Newtons have hired an attorney and Chizik is 100 percent sure Cam Newton is a Tiger and will be such until, at the very soonest at all, he leaves for the NFL.
People don't like it when Auburn succeeds. Remember Mark Ingram and his fishing trip last year? That didn't have an effect on anything. Don't worry, Tiger fans. This is NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, except angry people blowing hot air about something not important.

If the NCAA penalizes Auburn, then AU should break away from the NCAA, because there is nothing they can find to prove Cam got money. He did send in bank records. If nothing shows up, then this was much adieu about zilch.

Is Micheal Dyer better than Bo Jackson?

Dyer delivers on schedule

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  Phillip Marshall, Senior Editor
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AUBURN – Long before he arrived at Auburn last summer, Mike Dyer had proved he was no ordinary running back.

Mike Dyer on the run at Ole Miss/Todd Van Emst photo

At Little Rock Christian Academy, Dyer rushed for more than 8,000 yards in his career, breaking the Arkansas record. He was rated the nation’s top running back prospects, a jewel in a recruiting class rated in the nation’s top five.
But once Dyer arrived at Auburn, running backs coach Curtis Luper says, he showed even more.
“He’s very conscientious,” Luper said. “He wants to be good. He wants to win. He is doing well in school. He’s all we thought he would be and more. There is always that unknown until you get them here and they actually practice and get hit in the mouth. You love it when you are better than they thought they were.”
Dyer has had a growing impact on the No. 2 Tigers as they have moved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference going into Saturday’s homecoming game against Chattanooga.
Even as quarterback Cam Newton has established himself as the runaway leader for the Heisman Trophy, Dyer is on the verge of having the best season of any freshman running back in school history. Through nine games, he has rushed for 723 yards. Bo Jackson holds the freshman record of 829 yards. He and sophomore Onterio McCalebb have combined a dynamic 1-2 punch at tailback.
Dyer says he and his teammates always knew it was more than the Cam Newton Show.
“When the time comes for us to do our part, that’s what we are going to do,” Dyer said. “… It really doesn’t matter what the outsiders say.”
In last Saturday’s 51-31 victory at Ole Miss, Dyer rushed 21 times for 180 yards and scored on a 30-yard run. He averages 80.3 yards per game, fifth best in the SEC. Speedy sophomore Onterio McCalebb averages 61.9 yards per game and a gaudy 8.7 yards per carry. He had a 68-yard run at Ole Miss. A week earlier, he scored the winning touchdown on a 70-yard run in a 24-17 victory over LSU.
“We do what we have to do to win the game,” McCalebb said. “It’s not a one-man team or anything like that. Everybody is in it together.”
Dyer, McCalebb and Newton, who leads the SEC with 124.7 rushing yards per game, create major headaches for defenses. They lead a rushing attack that leads the SEC with 307.7 yards per game.
“I think the three of them have really posed problems for opposing defenses,” Luper said. “Mike is an inside runner and can get the perimeter, too. They have the read option game going. It’s pretty tough. You can sit in the box and try to stop Cam and Onterio will take it 70 on you in a heartbeat.”
Dyer has rushed for 280 yards in the past two games. Luper says his emergence is right on schedule.
“It was our intent to start off slow with him and kind of work him into the offense,” Luper said, “so that the last four or five games of the season we could have him at full strength and he would be able to carry it 24-25 times down the stretch.”
That’s just what Dyer wants. Since his high school days, with more carries he’s been more effective.

Urban Meyer Behind Newton Controversy?

Did Urban Meyer Help Spark the Cam Newton Story?

By

Ian Berg

(Auburn Featured Columnist) on November 5, 2010

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For College Football Fans

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• The Top Recruiting Classes Entering November

**UPDATE**

- AP writer John Zenor quotes a source to the AP stating that Rogers had no contact with Auburn -

Really? Urban Meyer? Didn't we just have "don't spread rumors" talk last year sometime with Mike Slive? For everything that has gone on in the past 18 or so hours, the most interesting part is that no one has tried to uncover where the story came from in the first place. 
We know that there was Kenny Rogers allegedly trying to sell Cam Newton to the Mississippi State football team. We know that the person that was allegedly approached was John Bond, a former Mississippi State quarterback. But the question that remains is why did Bond go to the media? Even better, who guided him to the right people?
One thing that will get you the furthest in life is knowing the right people. A phone call that started this was between three people. These three are from different parts of the south but have the some shared interests. That being SEC football.
Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen and John Bond allegedly had a conversation. That conversation could have been about hot and spicy Chick-Fil-A sandwiches for all we know, but one thing I believe occurred, it turned to Cam Newton. Why the conversation would turn to him is definitely not surprising.
Newton was coached by Mullen and Meyer at Florida. The M & M crew failed to sway Newton to their teams this past winter and, having coached him, there is no doubt they knew that he had talent. Did anyone know that he could play at this level? I doubt it. Has Newton's recent success caused the M & M crew to wish they had him? I can't imagine them not wanting this football phenom to be on their team.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

With that being said, did Meyer or Mullen do anything wrong in this instance? No one but those guys knows.
From what is being said on JOX in Birmingham this morning and what is being swirled around the Auburn boards is that this was an instance where a conversation went from Mullen saying there is no reason to try and spread this non-story but Meyer pushed the issue.
All reports are pointing to Meyer guiding John Bond to the media to release this story. What were the motives of Meyer to see this released? Why would a coach at a school that Auburn hasn't played, and at this point is not scheduled to play, want to smear a player so badly? No one knows.
Here are the facts that have came out so far. Kenny Rogers, a guy with no clean record himself, had claimed to represent Newton and approached alum John Bond in order to receive payment in exchange for Newton to attend Mississippi State.
Newton did not attend Mississippi State. Newton went to Auburn.
The way that the news broke it seemed that Auburn was implied to have done something wrong. The issue is that the SEC and the NCAA knew about this allegation before this season started.
The Auburn compliance department would have been made aware of any allegations or investigation at the beginning of the process, not when the story broke from ESPN. What that says is that Auburn has been playing Newton with the understanding that he is eligible.
Newton and his family have denied any wrongdoing and have hired an attorney to protect themselves. This is looking more and more like false accusations as the story unfolds. Neither Auburn nor the Newton family has conceded any wrongdoing. A rogue alum at Mississippi State is all that is "fact" to this point.
Needless to say, this is going to get very interesting in the coming days. Will this ruin the opportunity for Newton to win the Heisman?
It shouldn't.
But the negative media spin sure isn't going to help the perception of voters or the public. "I'm sorry" unfortunately won't fix the ramifications of the allegations.
With that being said, let's play football. At this point, this is a 21-year-old kid who has done nothing wrong and has played great football. Keep that in mind.

NEWTON'S FATHER: 'IT'S NOT TRUE'

• Phillip Marshall, Senior Editor
  

Rev. Cecil Newton, contacted Thursday afternoon by AuburnUndercover.com, adamantly denied any wrongdoing by his son, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, or his family.

Auburn quarterback Cam Newton

He said he has retained a lawyer to represent his son and his family.
"It's not true," Cecil Newton said. "The allegations are completely unfounded, and we've retained an attorney. That's all I can say at this time."
Auburn officials, told by the NCAA they should not comment, only affirmed that Newton remains eligible and is expected to start Saturday's homecoming game against Chattanooga.
ESPN.com reported Thursday that former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond told said Kenny Rogers, a teammate of Bond's at Mississippi State in the early 1980s, contacted him soon after Newton's official visit to Mississippi State during the Ole Miss game in December, and said he was representing Newton.
"He said it would take some cash to get Cam," Bond told ESPN.com. "I called our athletic director, Greg Byrne, and he took it from there. That was pretty much it."
Athletic department sources said Auburn's compliance department, in conjunction with the Southeastern Converence office, looked into the accusations after being made aware of them last summer and determined there had been no wrongdoing by Cam Newton or by Auburn.
The ESPN.com story quoted no other sources by name, nor did it implicate Auburn.
“If Rogers tried to solicit money from anyone, he did it on his own without our knowledge,” Cecil Newton told ESPN.com.
The story was a collaborative effort that included New York Times reporter Pete Thamel and ESPN.com reporters Chris Low and Mark Schlabach.

Phillip Marshall is a Senior Editor for AuburnUndercover

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Auburn Tigers -vs- Mississippi

Auburn Football: Cam Passes, Runs and Catches Auburn To Victory!

By

John Reeves

(Contributor) on October 30, 2010 - Auburn 

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

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Auburn—51
Ole Miss—31
Auburn defeated Ole Miss by 20 points. Cam Newton torched the opposing defense in the first half. We then ran over them in the second half.

Offense
The offense looked about as good as it has all year. The deeper you get in a season, the tougher the competition gets. The opposition has more information to counter their plays.
The running game looked fantastic for the Tigers. Micheal Dyer has come into his role with the team like a veteran player. With his low center of gravity and power, he's close to unstoppable. Onterio McClalebb who's been cold in the past two games had a great game today going over 100 yards.
The WR play was solid for Auburn. Darvin Adams had the kind of day I've expected for a while. Emory Blake has gotten better week after week. Terrell Zachery has a knack for finding the end zone. Cam Newton could not have been as successful without these three wide receivers.

Defense
We usually manage to stop the run, though today against Ole Miss we didn't even do that very well. I know we're undefeated, and maybe I'm overreacting, but the pass defense has not improved. I actually feel it's getting worse on man-to-man on the outside.

Will Auburn Win the West?

Yes  84.2%

No  3.2%

Still Unsure  12.6%

Total votes: 190

Zac Ethridge has played well and I know Washington picked one off, but the team overall isn't stopping the pass. I really hope Auburn uses the game week with UTC to prepare for the back-to-back games against passing teams. Both Georgia and Alabama will kill the secondary as it stands today.
Nick Fairley is a beast at the nose guard position. On a defense that has some glaring holes, it relies on Fairley's aggressive nature. I have Nick Fairley as defensive lineman of the year, but it's more debatable than the Heisman race.

The Future For Auburn
Auburn has shown us over the course of the season so far that they can win. Regardless of who has faced us, or what their game plan might be, we have beaten them.
We've won the close games, we've also won the tough games. We have something better than a bye week coming. We have an easy game against Tenn Chatt that we can use to shore-up some weak spots.
The media will be talking about the No. 1 ranking, and I can see why that could be a distraction. It wasn't an issue this week going on the road to Ole Miss, but this will he the second week the hype machine.
Georgia hasn't been an unstoppable team, but they've passed the ball very well. We have defended the pass like a high school team. This game could be just like the Kentucky game.
Alabama is the toughest opponent on the schedule. Not that the game isn't big enough as is; this season it's more than likely to decide the west division. Alabama can pass the football very well, but they usually try to overpower their opponent with the run. They will come at our secondary; that's why it must improve from here on out.