Cam Newton: As Far As The Heisman Goes, He Is Just That Good.

Tonight four young men will sit in Radio City Music Hall in New York City and anxiously await the outcome of a final vote. Whoever has the most votes will win the most sought after prize in all of College Football, perhaps all of sports: the Heisman Trophy. Each of these young studs has a legitimate claim to the title of best college football player of 2010.

Lamicheal James, Oregon’s sophomore psych major from Texas has dazzled people all this season. In 230 attempts he’s logged 1546 yards, averaging 6.7 yards a carry and 14 touchdowns. He’s elusive and quick and clutch as all get out. The Doak Walker people think he’s the best running back in college and you won’t hear a lot of argument there.

There’s Kellen Moore, Boise State’s junior stud. As a starter he’s 37-2. This season he’s thrown 3500 yards with 39 touchdowns and three interceptions. Yeah, he plays in the WAC, and yeah, it’s no SEC or Big 10, but where have you ever seen a team positively dominate just about everyone they play the way Boise State has? The way Kellen Moore has? There is no doubt that his guy is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation at this point.

Let’s not forget about Andrew Luck, Stanford’s sophomore who Rob Rang of CBS Sports called “the best quarterback and elite prospect…[he’s] scouted.”

The guy is good. He’s got the mechanics and fundamentals that everyone wants in a solid QB. Many think he’s going to be the number one overall pick in the 2011 draft; that he’s the heir apparent to another Stanford legend by the name of Elway. With a passer rating of 95.5, a one loss season second place seeding in the PAC-10 and a trip to the Orange Bowl (their second Bowl appearance 2001), it would appear Mr. Luck has helped bring the Stanford Cardinals back to a position of importance in college football.

These are all solid contenders for the title of best collegiate football player in America. Good luck to all of these young men and may the best of them win.

Oh wait. There’s that other guy.

You know, the one who bought the stolen laptop. The guy who used to back up Tim Tebow.

What’s his name?

You know, that guy whose dad tried to bribe Mississippi State University to get him to play there. The guy who people are saying is a scam.

What is his name?

Oh yea.

Cam Newton.

There are those who claim that because Cam Newton’s father tried to get some cash for his son, who claims to have had no knowledge of the his father’s actions, he should be declared ineligible by the NCAA.

People are suggesting that he is guilty by association and that for him to win the Heisman trophy would be a travesty and would undermine what the Heisman stands for, which is … what, exactly? The most outstanding player in collegiate football was it? Because if that is what the Heisman is supposed to be for then where is the argument?

Let’s put this to rest right now—Cam Newton is far and away the best player in college football today. That’s it. End of story.

We thought Tim Tebow was phenomenal but Newton would blow him out of the water in terms of football skill, overall athleticism and downright talent. People call him “Scam” Newton. Well that’s cute. But here’s the thing: money, no matter how much, cannot create talent. It can perhaps motivate it. It can even inspire it. But it cannot create it, which is to say that Newton is simply that good.

Whether he got $100,000 or he got a ring-pop, he’s that good. Money doesn’t make you throw for 2589 yards, 28 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. It doesn’t help you rush for 24 touchdowns as a quarterback either. Money, while nice, does not create athletic ability.

Cam Newton is just that good.

As far as we know, Cam Newton never actually did anything wrong. The NCAA found that his father was the one who broke the rules and did so without his son’s knowledge. Now, whether that’s true or not we are in no position to say. But that’s not the point. The people who vote for the Heisman are not supposed to vote for his morality. They are meant to vote for what he displays on the field every Saturday and there should not be a doubt that Cam Newton has displayed the most.

Get off your high horse, fellow sports writers. Let’s stop being hypocrites. The NCAA declared him eligible, vote for him as such. If you honestly don’t think he’s the best player in the country give your vote to someone else, but to deny him your vote based on circumstances off the field which have no impact on his play (one could argue that he’s even better than we thought, considering how well he’s managed to play amid this controversy), would be an act of dishonesty in itself.

You are not the pope. Your job is not to judge rightness and wrongness, it’s to vote for the best.