Cam Newton only spent one season at Auburn but boy, did he make it count.
A former five-star recruit, Newton set numerous records during the 2010 season with the Tigers. He won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship that year, before being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Newton recently opened up about what led him to Auburn and how close he was to going elsewhere. A Georgia native, he strongly considered the Bulldogs, but they didn’t want him as a quarterback. Because of that, Georgia was one team Newton really looked forward to facing off against.
"Ah, Georgia. Georgia, for sure,“ Cam Newton said when asked who he enjoyed playing. ”Because Mark Richt was the coach at the time, and he never recruited me as a quarterback. I took that personally.
“Me being from Georgia, yeah, that was something that was a little personal. They recruited me heavily, but it was for an athlete/tight end. But to their defense, they had Matthew Stafford still there.”
Another program that Newton enjoyed facing off against was South Carolina. Like Georgia, Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks did not recruit him as a quarterback.
That obviously proved to be a mistake as Newton beat South Carolina twice -- once in the regular season and once in the SEC title game -- during his run to a national title.
“Then a couple of other teams, too,” Newton said. “South Carolina. Man, the Old Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, sat me down in his office and told me that they’re strongly considering and all bets are on a recruit by the name of Stephen Garcia.
“And if Stephen Garcia does not come then we will recruit you at quarterback. But if you decide to come to South Carolina, your priority will be as an athlete. … So yeah, it was good to give him two [Ls] that year."
Garcia signed with the Gamecocks and played well for a few seasons before being kicked off the team due to disciplinary issues.
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