Cam Newton: Why He Will Succeed As an NFL Quarterback

Cam Newton was a giant cog in the Auburn machinery that delivered the National Title Monday night.

Next stop for Newton? Could be the NFL. He'll have to decide quickly but there are more signs pointing toward his entry into the April draft than not.

Newton is not the glaring five-star prospect that Andrew Luck of Stanford was deemed to be. But it would be foolish to overlook his size, speed and athletic ability and yes, he throws a pretty decent pass.

If he does choose the NFL draft, someone's going to go after this young man.

Why?

Defense Exhibit A: Josh Freeman.

There were a lot of "experts" scoffing at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they chose Freeman with the 17th pick of the first round two years ago. The Bucs even moved up a spot to get him, Tampa Bay Coach Raheem Morris said he would have taken Freeman No. 1 overall.

Freeman has proven the naysayers wrong. He's arguably the best young quarterback in the league.

What made the difference for the Buccaneers, who went from 3-13 to 10-6 was Freeman's play and that play stemmed directly from his work ethic. First guy into the Bucs practice facility, last guy to leave. At times they had to make him go home.

There are three reasons college stars do or do not make it in the NFL:

1. Work ethic: Peyton Manning set the bar for being a "student of the game." It takes a lot of time and effort to work at your craft, it's a year-round job, there is no offseason. Not if you want to be among the best.

2. Deportment and mental capabilities: Some players simply cannot stay out of trouble and too many are not emotionally mature enough to handle the fame and money that becomes part of their lives.

3. Lack of coaching: There's a reason the New England Patriots have so much success. Players in New England are "coached up" making many previous anonymous players into accomplished men on the field of play.

Let's look at Newton.

Like Freeman, he's a physical specimen. Freeman is 6'6", 260 pounds. Newton is 6'6", 250. That kind of size is hard to ignore.

Newton is a hard worker. There's no slacker in him. You'd be hard pressed to find any slackers on this 2010 National Championship team that is called Auburn.

Mental toughness? Newton played this past season with more distractions than there is toilet paper hanging at Toomer's Corner this morning. He's simply cool, collected and calm. He's tough to rattle. And that's a huge part of becoming a good NFL quarterback.

Coaching? He was well coached at Auburn, How else could a guy spend one year in the system and be so darn effective?

Now it's just a matter of getting him with the right coaching staff at the next level.

Yes, he is the child of the spread offense. But he did show that he can take snaps effectively from under center.

He threw 32 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions. He's careful with the football, makes good choices. Completion percentage was only 65.3 percent and that was the knock on Freeman. Good coaching will bring that number up in the NFL, NFL-calibre receivers will bring that number up in the NFL.

Intangibles?

Cameron Newton flat out has the heart of a winner.

So add it all up and what you have is a talented young man with talent and poise.

Will he be a success in the National Football League?

No crystal ball here but this guy certainly has that great ingredient that old school coaches used to call "a lot of want-to." Cam Newton wants to succeed.

He had enough "want-to" to muster that amazing comeback against Alabama. Had enough "want-to" to get his team through the SEC undefeated, had enough "want-to" to deal with a pretty determined Oregon defense on Monday night.

Will Cam Newton be a big success in the NFL?

Wouldn't want to bet against him.

Would you?