Cecil Newton: Has His Baggage Already Ruined Cam Newton's NFL Career?

I'm a Cam Newton fan.

Anyone who goes for 3,998 total yards and 48 total touchdowns will always get my respect. I watched him keep winning close games, gash my alma mater for 217 yards rushing and lead Auburn to an SEC championship and tonight's BCS Championship against Oregon.

I don't question his talent for a second, but I do question just how oblivious he was when it came to his dad Cecil and his pay-for-play scheme (help me understand how you can be so close with your parent, but just somehow not hear about this). I'm also not quite ready to anoint him just yet as the next great NFL superstar.

Before you Auburn fans fire off your comments (and I know you're out there), let me explain: Newton has played just one year in the Southeastern Conference, and he could only benefit with another year of seasoning in college. Auburn's offense definitely isn't a pro style either, and while it does allow him to make plays with his feet, he certainly isn't required to stand back in the pocket and dissect a defense the way Stanford's Andrew Luck does.

Sure, Newton's 6'6", 250-pound frame made him hard to tackle in the SEC this year, but in the NFL he will face defenses that are bigger, stronger, faster and much smarter. Once he gets there, it's details like footwork and mechanics that could either help or hurt him, too. 

I'm not the only one with questions, either. Russ Lande, a former NFL scout who now works for the Sporting News, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Newton needs to stay in college and "work on his God awful mechanics." Lande also didn't have Newton as a first-round pick.

Jeff Van Raaphorst, the 1987 Rose Bowl MVP for Arizona State and now an analyst for Sun Devils football games, recently dissected Newton's game for the Arizona Republic. There was lots he liked, but he also said one challenge in the NFL will be in the run game, when Newton will have to make line calls and know the linemen's blocks. Right now, Newton can get the ball without following the center, but if he's under center, it could lead to fumbles.

"This guy is a tailback, fullback, quarterback all rolled into one," Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said in the story. "As a runner and being able to put a team on his shoulders, he's very Tebow like. I just don't know as a passer because I haven't studied it. To survive in the NFL, you've got to throw consistently and accurately in the pocket because it's grown men trying to hurt each other. That will prove out over time."

Of course there are questions about Newton's character, which ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay raised with the Mobile Press-Register. 

"I talked to a scout and he said, 'We have to know that he's smart enough to play in this league at the quarterback position, and that he has the character to be our leader,'" McShay said.

So let's tap the brakes for the moment. Does Newton have the talent to succeed in the NFL? Absolutely. Unlike some, I'm not ready to slap a first-round tag on him. Another year at Auburn, and his skills will be sharpened even more. If he jumps to the NFL, one year spent learning and studying the game would benefit him tremendously. The time will come when he's ready.

It's just not now.