Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is the third player to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, win a national championship, and be the first overall pick in the NFL draft all in the same one-year span, joining Leon Hart (1950), and Angelo Bertelli (1944), but is the only one to have won Rookie of the Year.
Newton is the son of Cecil Newton, Sr., who was cut as a safety from the pre-season rosters of the 1983 Dallas Cowboys and 1984 Buffalo Bills, and the younger brother of Cecil Newton, Jr., a center who plays for the Baltimore Ravens.
Newton was initially a member of the University of Florida Gators (Gainesville) in 2007 and 2008. He would later transfer to Blinn College (Texas), where his team won a national junior college football championship in 2009. Newton was then recruited by head coach Gene Chizik of Auburn University and transferred once more. He became just the third player in major college football history to pass for 30 touchdowns and rush for 20 touchdowns in a single season.
On December 11, 2010, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding college football player. During his first season at Auburn, Newton led the top-ranked Auburn Tigers to a 13-0 record and 2010 National Championship Title. In addition, Newton is the recipient of the 2010 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year winner. The Associated Press (AP) and Sports Illustrated first team All-American was also named Offensive Player of the Year by the AP and Scout.com.
Newton finished the season ranked first in the nation in total points responsible for (21.84 per game) and in passing efficiency with a rating of 182.05. He also led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in rushing (105.21 yards) and total offense (309.07 yards), and became the first player in SEC history and the eighth different player in NCAA history to pass for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. Cam was selected by the Carolina Panthers as the Number Draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. During his inaugural season, he broke several records including Most Passing Yards by a rookie quarterback and was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pepsi Cola Rookie of the year.
Cameron Newton, the son of Cecil and Jackie Newton, attended Westlake High School in Atlanta where he amassed numerous accolades as well. In addition to his commitment to football, Newton is dedicated to giving back to his community and began serving youth as a Freshmen at the University of Florida via mentoring and motivational speaking. His allegiance to youth continued at Auburn University where he devoted significant time to inspiring elementary students to be the best they can be. He has always held a tender spot in his heart for children and is committed to enhancing the comprehensive development of “every” child. In his NFL debut, Newton became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in his NFL regular-season opener, breaking Peyton Manning's rookie record.
Famous quotes containing the words cam and/or newton:
“There were twa sisters sat in a bour;
Binnorie, O Binnorie!
There cam a knight to be their wooer,
By the bonnie milldams o’ Binnorie.”
—Unknown. Binnorie; or, The Two Sisters (l. 1–4)
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St. Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)