By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
The Cam Newton story is an interesting one that doesn't appear to be anywhere near its final chapter. I'll try to update this timeline as soon as significant developments warrant. In the meantime, feel free to bookmark or share:
2007: Cam Newton is a true freshman quarterback at Florida, backing up Tim Tebow, who would win the Heisman Trophy at the end of the season.
2008: Newton backs up Tebow again, sees action in Florida's season-opener, but hurts his ankle and takes a medical redshirt. Also during this season, Newton is found to be in possession of a stolen laptop computer.
January 2009: Newton transfers to Blinn (Texas) College, where in his only season he would lead the Buccaneers to the National Junior College Athletic Association championship.
December 2009: After winning the championship at Blinn, Newton announces his decision to transfer to Auburn.
September 2010: With junior eligibility, Newton starts at quarterback for the Tigers, leading Auburn to 11 straight wins to open the season.
November 4, 2010: Both The New York Times and ESPN publish reports that a former Mississippi State player claiming to represent Newton and Newton's family told another former Mississippi State player that the Bulldogs would have to pay for Newton's services. John Bond, an MSU quarterback in the 1980s, told both outlets that his former teammate, Kenny Rogers, told him "it would take some cash to get Cam."
November 6, 2010: When asked if he'd ever met Rogers, Newton told reporters he can't talk about the controversy, but never said "No" to that question. "I haven't done anything wrong" was the most he'd say that day.
November 8, 2010: Separate reports surface within days of each other, one claiming that Newton and his father pursued a pay-for-play scenario when the quarterback was coming out of Blinn. The other report alleged that Newton was caught cheating in school on three separate occasions while at Florida, eventually facing near expulsion from the school.
November 9, 2010: Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs called the allegations that Newton cheated at Florida "unfortunate" and "sad," calling the quarterback "a great kid." Auburn coach Gene Chizik calls the allegations against his star player "pure garbage." ... Also on Nov. 9, Newton addressed the academic accusations, kind of: "I'm not gonna sit up here and say anything about it, whether I did or did not do it, because I don't want to beat a dead horse," he said.
November 11, 2010: After previous denials, Rogers admits that Cecil Newton had asked for money in exchange for his son's signature on a letter of intent with Mississippi State ... Also on this day, MSU booster Bill Bell said he was asked for payment by Newton, and added that he'd shared that information with the NCAA.
November 12, 2010: The Birmingham News reported that Cecil Newton admitted to a source that there was a pay-for-play scenario. Also on this day, ESPN reported that Cam Newton told a Mississippi State recruiter that Cecil Newton decided his son would play at Auburn over MSU because, according to the younger Newton, "the money was too much."
November 13, 2010: Chizik, after saying throughout the week he'd start Newton against SEC rival Georgia, keeps his word. Newton gains nearly 300 yards of total offense, passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more in Auburn's 49-31 victory.
November 15, 2010: The FBI speaks with John Bond, and the NCAA interviews Kenny Rogers.
November 18, 2010: An attorney for Rogers, Doug Zeit, told the Associated Press that Rogers sent a text message to Bell outlining the specifics of the payment plan Cecil Newton allegedly was seeking. The text said Newton demanded an $80,000 payment the day after Cam Newton was to have signed with Mississippi State, then $50,000 30 days later, and another $50,000 30 days after that. Zeit said that no money ever changed hands, and later that day, an attorney for the Newton family, George Lawson, told Atlanta television station WSB that he's "a million percent confident" that Cam Newton didn't take any money.
November 26, 2010: With a seemingly insurmountable about of stress swirling around him, Newton leads his Tigers to a thrilling 28-27 win at hated rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl.
November 30, 2010: Auburn declares Newton ineligible for violating NCAA amateurism rules, then immediately appeals its decision. This development was kept quiet in Auburn and NCAA circles. With an absence of evidence that Newton was involved in the pay-for-play scenario, Tigers officials knew the NCAA would restore Newton's eligibility the next day.
December 1, 2010: The NCAA Student Athlete Reinstatement Staff restores Newton's eligibility.
December 4, 2010: Newton has a hand in six touchdowns as Auburn thrashes South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game, leading the 13-0 Tigers to a spot in the BCS national championship game.
December 11, 2010: Newton wins the 76th Heisman Trophy. Despite being left off 105 of the nearly 900 ballots that were submitted, it was a landslide margin.