tough to compete when SEC employs mercenaries

Submitted by Blue Blue Blue on

so Cam Newton is turning "pro" after his "junior" year at Auburn.  what a shock.   and what better illustration of why the SEC keeps winning Nat'l Champ games.

Newton enrolled at Florida, reportedly got caught cheating academically on multiple occasions, bought  a stolen laptop (which he heaved out the window in front ot the campus police who came for him).  Newton got out of Dodge before the posse came for him, and holed up at Blinn Junior College.

At Blinn (known as the Harvard of Texas), Newton lead the football team to a Nat Champ and must have had enough of an academic awakening that he magically was back at Div 1 academic standards, despite his academic problems at Florida.

(Unbeknownst to sweet innocent Cam, Preacher Dad is shopping his prime meet to the highest bidder) Cam turns up at Auburn, does not have to sit out a transfer year, kicks ass on the field and then leaves Auburn with a Heisman Trophy, a Nat Championship, having only had to waste a few months of his life with actual college classes.

Gee, how come we cant rebuild on junior college talent ? (that was rhetorical)  Even if a 6' 8" running, passing stud wanted to come here........between the academic BS at Florida, the admissions department disallowing junior college credits, and the Big 10's rule about transfers sitting out a year (so they can prove they go to classes!!).......Cam Newton could never have played for Michigan.  He was barely a student at Auburn, and I suspect he aint wasting time in class right now.

so lets not praise the SEC teams too much. 

Callahan

January 14th, 2011 at 9:09 AM ^

It has to do with "academic standards" and the quality of junior college credits. (I know, it was rhetorical, but someone was going to say "I know, right?")

This really doesn't bother me, other than the crap about Cam's dad. Oregon practically lives on JCs as well. I think there are far more that use them than don't.

jackw8542

January 14th, 2011 at 10:18 AM ^

and he forgot to mention that Cam had committed to MSU (not that MSU but that MSU) and told one of his about to become teammates that he had to withdraw the commitment because the money was too good.  Not that one should take that to mean that he knew what Daddy was up to, and the NCAA certainly did not take it that way.

Young Pretty a…

January 14th, 2011 at 9:33 AM ^

That garbage will come back on Auburn.  It also helps the SEC that they have 16 fricken teams. They should be the strongest foot ball conference.

But with Nebraska coming and the rebirth of Michigan Football, that could change

GoBlue21

January 14th, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^

the re-investigation of Auburn.  Can we say Reggie Bush 2.0?!?!  But Cam didn't know what his dad was doing...riiiiggggghhhhhhtttttt!

The NCAA has become a money hungry joke!

TheAVA

January 14th, 2011 at 9:20 AM ^

Another thing that gets lost in the shuffle is that Nick Fairley, AU's defensive line standout, was also a JUCO transfer, and the circumstances of his admission to Auburn were very very suspect. He gets the flak for being a "dirty" player all season, but the firestorm that was the Cecil Newton Show definitely took a lot of scrutiny off of Fairley as well. I'm all for junior college players getting a fair shake and opportunity to live the same dream as any other college football player, but JUCO recruitment is still a black box into which most college football fans have very little real insight. I'll be interested to see if this comes up at all should Auburn come under investigation later on.

Waters Demos

January 14th, 2011 at 9:21 AM ^

Schembechler called it the "mythical national championship."

What he could have added is that nearly everything in college football is mythical.  Hell, even B1G championships are mythical because there's no round robin, so who's to say who the best team is during any given season?

So when almost everything is mythical, you must play and defeat the opponents on your schedule.  And you must do it the right way.  That's all.  Worrying about anything else is a waste insofar as any additional victories/losses against schools from other conferences (that have different [lower] standards) are themselves mythical. 

Until strict rules are promulgated and applied uniformly, all inter-conference competition is mythical. 

bdneely4

January 14th, 2011 at 9:24 AM ^

But my brother-in-law is an assistant coach under Tuberville at Texas Tech right now and he believes that Auburn is going to get hit with some major violations next year once the Cam Newton situation is re-investigated.  I am not sure if he was basing his assumption off any real evidence, but it sounds believeable.

GoBlue21

January 14th, 2011 at 9:49 AM ^

the NCAA had the opportunity to nip this in the bud the first time.  You're meaning to tell me that Cam Newton had absolutely NO IDEA what his dad was doing.  He was close to committing to Mississippi St but ALL THE SUDDEN switched his commitment to Auburn.  His father's "church" was about to get torn down because it didn't meet inspection requirements but MAGICALLY it gets fixed and up to code? 

The NCAA covered their a$$ by keeping Cam eligible.  If he was ineligible, TCU slides into the BCS Championship and everyone would be up in arms that a none BCS conference got into the NC game.  Cam is doing the "right thing" by going pro because $hit is probably going to hit the fan at Auburn.  I hope the NCAA re-investigates Auburn because something just doesn't add up.  The only problem is, would the NCAA look bad if they do have to punish Auburn and didn't do it the first time???

bing24

January 14th, 2011 at 10:10 AM ^

The reason Cam Newton was eligle is for $$$$$$$$$$. Without him the National Championship is a joke game and the NCAA knows that. I fully believe there will be a hammer laid down on Auburn and their 'Ship will be taken away a la Fab Five banners. Same situation with OSU, suspended those jackasses for 5 games next year and let them play in the bowl for $$$$. Now, I REALLY hope the NCAA investigates OSU's cheating too...Which is probably just a dream.

Also, consider the NCAA doesn't act upon things quickly. They gather ALL information & have a iron clad case before taking someone to NCAA court. We all knew Kwame was guilty/crooked, but FBI waited until they had everything lined up to take him down.

Hoken's Heroes

January 14th, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^

....that these teams can get damn good players and win big games while Michigan has a hard time getting top tier talent and can't win big games while at the same time getting targeted by the NCAA and getting punished for something every damn school does when it comes to practicing in the off season. Michigan is truly cursed.

Don Keypunch

January 14th, 2011 at 9:33 AM ^

Did Gene Chizik casually ask Newton to maybe not return next year to try to keep the wolves at bay? Although the wolves being the NCAA they would likely penalize Auburn by asking them to really try hard to not do anything wrong again anytime soon.

Don Keypunch

January 14th, 2011 at 9:46 AM ^

Even my wife (who typically cannot stand anything sports related) was fascinated by Pony Excess. Makes me really hate to have to listen to Craig James comment on anything knowing that he was on the payroll back in his college days.

Nickel

January 14th, 2011 at 9:44 AM ^

I think the biggest reason for their dominance lately is the oversigning thing where the average Big Ten team recruits 86 players over a four year period and the average SEC team recruits 103 over the same period   Tell me any of us wouldn't have rather had (from a purely talent-wise standpoint) an extra 17 guys to 'tryout' and make our team better this year?

Of course they can't keep that many, they need to be down to 85 so the 3rd string junior who fails a drug test gets kicked off the team while the Percy Harvins of the world stay on.  Or you stop giving practice reps to that underperformer and he finally gets sick of practicing and quits.

BornInAA

January 14th, 2011 at 9:44 AM ^

the problem with this type of program is:

1) eventually someone get caught and hard sanctions come down

2) you are using transfers with questionable ethics and these type of people often don't perform as Cam Newton did - but rather have a bad attitude, miss practices, don't put out 100% and feel entitled

hard examples of playing with this kind of fire:

1958 Auburn went undefeated but was ineligible for ranking due to being on probation for paying players

1993 Auburn was again undefeated but was ineligible for ranking or bowl game due to NCAA sanctions again for paying players

2010 remains to investigated...

 

So I am not jealous of a program that gets a tainted national championship every 20 years followed by 6 years of bowl ineligibility.

GunnersApe

January 14th, 2011 at 9:45 AM ^

Its Auburns turn to go on Probation/NCAA violations; once they get done Alabama will do something stupid. It’s the circle of life in the SEC.  Plus with the over signing they don’t have to worry about scholarship limitation.   

beast

January 14th, 2011 at 9:46 AM ^

had anything to do with college football do you really think that 2 teams from the state of Alabama would really have won the MNC 2 years in a row? No effing way.

CRISPed in the DIAG

January 14th, 2011 at 9:47 AM ^

This has "what else does he have to prove at the college level" written all over it.  Besides the NFL rookie minimum salary for 2010 was $285k - probably more than what Auburn was willing to pay. 

I'm mostly serious...

Don

January 14th, 2011 at 10:03 AM ^

By the time he's 50, he'll have squandered the small fortune he got from the NFL, and not having a degree from a four-year institution he'll end up with no assets, a mountain of debt, and nothing to fall back on.

Impaler 19

January 14th, 2011 at 10:30 AM ^

You are assuming that he doesn't flame out in the NFL. It appears that he may not have the work ethic required to succeed I the NFL. See Leaf, Ryan - Williams, Mike. 2 very talented guys in college that did not want to put in the work required to play in the league that were big time busts. Of course Williams' issue may have been getting drafted by Matt Millen.

Impaler 19

January 14th, 2011 at 10:34 AM ^

I did not say it but I meant that he will not likely be around long enough to get the fortune to squander. NFL teams like to look at a players character as well and that will impact where he gets drafted and push him down. That gets him too far away from the big money IMO.

TheAVA

January 14th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^

Williams may have bought himself some more time with an excellent rebound year in Seattle. I won't take issue with your categorization of him as a bust because of where the Lions took him in the draft and his production up until he left the league. But another campaign like this season would go a long way, though he never panned out to his elite-wideout billing.

TX2AA

January 14th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^

Although he should have been ineligible, Cam Newton is still one helluva' athlete.  Have to give him credit, and Gus Malzahan for scheming to exploit Cam's talents.  I don't find it as bad as taking performance enhancing drugs.  The schools (Auburn, Miss. St and Florida) are shady as hell, but he still has talent.  In the SEC; if you ain't cheatin', then you ain't tryin'.

rpel84

January 14th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^

Its a joke to me that he was even allowed to win the Heisman after all the Reggie Bush crap and the investigation.  And we get drug through the mud over 5 minutes of practice time.