Why Cam Newton's Success Proves Collegiate Character Can Be Overrated

With Cam Newton soaring and Tim Tebow's Broncos swooning, the comparisons coming this way are almost inevitable. 

Both played in spread-style offenses during the majority of their collegiate careers. Both won national championships and Heisman trophies. Both were hailed as emotional leaders who could will their teams to wins and carry entire 20-point deficits on their backs.

But, despite a seemingly stout list of similarities, people are going to tell you that these two players are nothing alike. They'll paint Newton and Tebow as polar opposites, and they'll do it by comparing their character.

Tebow, naturally, will play the good guy. Newton will be thrust back into his role as the villain.

Or at least that's how it'll be portrayed. Pundits will push the character argument right to the front of the discussion, a spot usually reserved for such talks by Tebow supporters. And they'll smash it to bits.

They'll go on and on about how Tebow's high character cannot translate to NFL wins. They'll mention that his leadership would be better utilized as an H-back or a tight end or a team chaplain. And they'll point out that his high moral fiber has led to only two wins as a starter.

And then they'll start in on Newton:

Look at this guy. He broke every rule the NCAA ever wrote, and he did it WITH A FAKE SMILE, the knave! And he's still better than Tebow. 

Of course, that'll involve a heavy dose of backtracking. The people ready to tell us that character doesn't matter when it comes to NFL success are the very same people who used Newton's supposed lack of character to bury his pro prospects.

The same people who called him a camera-savvy liar who could never win over a locker room are going to stare straight into the camera and say that character doesn't matter in professional football.

And, amazingly, they'll be wrong again. Character does matter. And Newton has plenty of it. When he played for three separate national championship teams in college, his character certainly wasn't a distraction. In fact, on two of those teams, it was a driving force.

How many 21-year-olds could have carried a team that spent half the season with no defense through the nation's toughest collegiate conference? Now how many of them could have done that while every fool with a pen or a keyboard was calling their father a liar and a cheat?

How many could have done that in their first year on a new team?

These aren't accomplishments listed by the NFL's shallow end. They're reserved for players who possess determination, focus and heart. They're for the guys with character.

Guys like Newton and Tebow. You know, guys who aren't that different. Both are Christians. Both have dads who are ministers. Both believe in team and hard work. Whether you believe those attributes are conducive to high character or not, they're clearly similarities between the two. And they're not the only ones. 

But it won't matter. They'll still be used as proof that all that matters is talent, with Tebow's struggles pitted against Newton's successes.

But Newton's success doesn't prove that collegiate character itself is overrated. If anything, it proves that it can be incorrectly reported.