From Auburn Rivals
Five-star quarterback Cameron Newton walked away from his official visit to Auburn Sunday with a big smile on his face … a big smile.
According to the 6-foot-6, 245-pound junior college standout, there were reasons, plenty of reasons, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Newton picked up a firm scholarship offer from the Tigers. He said he couldn't find anything bad about his visit. He enjoyed meeting the current Tiger players, the coaches.
"Everything went excellent," said Newton. "I'm on cloud nine right now."
Newton, ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 overall JUCO prospect in the country, arrived in Auburn Friday. He didn't have a dull moment while there.
"Auburn is making it hard on me," Newton said. "I'm going home not with just, 'hey mom and pops, they have this.' But 'they have this, that, they have all of this, you have to see this, you have to see that.'
"It's a major plus right now as far as recruiting and me committing. I really can't wait to get home to tell my parents what happened. I can't wait."
During his stay in Auburn, Newton was able to watch as the Tigers prepared for the Outback Bowl. During the Saturday practice, he saw the Auburn coaches in action, the players in action. He saw lead recruiter Curtis Luper, receivers coach Trooper Taylor and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn interacting with the players.
"My whole focus on coming to Auburn wasn't the glitz and glamour," he said. "It wasn't the parties. I wanted to talk football. I wanted to see the people they were talking about. Me seeing them practicing, I was like, 'man, this is real.' You got Coach Luper, Coach Troop, high-energy guys that you want around you that's going to keep your morale up as a player to perform at your best.
"You have Coach Malzahn, who honestly in my opinion, is one of the top up-and-up coordinators in the country. It's getting real big at Auburn."
Five-star quarterback Cameron Newton walked away from his official visit to Auburn Sunday with a big smile on his face … a big smile.
According to the 6-foot-6, 245-pound junior college standout, there were reasons, plenty of reasons, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Newton picked up a firm scholarship offer from the Tigers. He said he couldn't find anything bad about his visit. He enjoyed meeting the current Tiger players, the coaches.
"Everything went excellent," said Newton. "I'm on cloud nine right now."
Newton, ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 overall JUCO prospect in the country, arrived in Auburn Friday. He didn't have a dull moment while there.
"Auburn is making it hard on me," Newton said. "I'm going home not with just, 'hey mom and pops, they have this.' But 'they have this, that, they have all of this, you have to see this, you have to see that.'
"It's a major plus right now as far as recruiting and me committing. I really can't wait to get home to tell my parents what happened. I can't wait."
Newton said he spent a lot of time with Malzahn, who doubles as Auburn's quarterback coach. Newton was very impressed with what he saw and heard from the Tigers' second-year man. The numbers Malzahn has put up, Newton said, don't lie.
"The offense is real different, but it's different in explosiveness," said Newton. "Coach Malzahn was telling me the statistics he's had, the accolades he's been given. There's not a question of if this offense works, if this program works. He's got statistics to back it up.
"Tulsa…boom. He has that. He goes and makes an average quarterback good. He told me he could make a good quarterback great. That's what I want to hear."
Newton's player host on the visit was former Lovejoy (Ga.) standout Mario Fannin. Newton spent time with Fannin and several of the Tigers' players.
"Mario took me out Saturday and we had a blast, every single night, just talking," said Newton. "We are from the same part (of Georgia). He knows a lot of the same people I know. We talked. We talked about football half the time, but really just talked about life most of the time.
"Every night I was with the players. All of those guys talked to me about how I could make an impact coming into this program and make an immediate impact to this team."
Several of those players were receivers, Newton said.
"I sensed the vibe (from the receivers)," he said. "I could tell they were looking saying, 'C'mon.' It's funny, but at the same time you like that because you know you are important to them for them to even give you that type of attention."
The assistant coaches and players weren't the only people that impressed Newton. Head coach Gene Chizik spoke at-length with him throughout the week including Sunday morning. Newton said he likes what the future holds for Auburn under Chizik.
"Everything is on the up-and-up with Auburn football with Coach Chizik in full effect having control of this program," he said. "It's a positive thing as a recruit that you want to see.
"There are still a lot of things I have to get cleared with my father, who couldn't be with me because he's preaching, but I'm going home a happy guy knowing that the school I'm interested in is on the rise."
Newton has now taken official visits to Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Auburn. He said he would make a final decision between the three schools soon. Newton has graduated from junior college and would enroll at a four-year school in January with two years to play two.
"I'll make my decision probably next week or within the next 10 days, no later than the next 10 days," Newton said. "I really couldn't say I have a leader right now because at the end of the day I have to put it all out there. I liked what I saw at Mississippi State. I liked what I saw at Oklahoma. I liked what I saw at Auburn.
"As a player, as an athlete, my job is to make the best decision for me. I'm a junior college kid that has two years to fulfill my dreams as a college football player. Whichever team is giving me all of that, that's the team I'm going to ride with."
Newton wants to attend a school he could make an immediate impact. With the Tigers losing quarterback Chris Todd to graduation, Newton said Auburn offers him that opportunity.
"No doubt I could make an impact (at Auburn)," he said. "I want to go somewhere that I'm competing to be the man. I'm going to train myself mentally, physically, in every which way, to be the man. When it comes game time, it's not a secret that success is brought upon by hard work in the offseason."
Now all he has to do is officially decide where he wants to do that. That shouldn't take long.
EDIT: I left the homer first part out by mistake.
Five-star quarterback Cameron Newton walked away from his official visit to Auburn Sunday with a big smile on his face … a big smile.
According to the 6-foot-6, 245-pound junior college standout, there were reasons, plenty of reasons, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Newton picked up a firm scholarship offer from the Tigers. He said he couldn't find anything bad about his visit. He enjoyed meeting the current Tiger players, the coaches.
"Everything went excellent," said Newton. "I'm on cloud nine right now."
Newton, ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 overall JUCO prospect in the country, arrived in Auburn Friday. He didn't have a dull moment while there.
"Auburn is making it hard on me," Newton said. "I'm going home not with just, 'hey mom and pops, they have this.' But 'they have this, that, they have all of this, you have to see this, you have to see that.'
"It's a major plus right now as far as recruiting and me committing. I really can't wait to get home to tell my parents what happened. I can't wait."
During his stay in Auburn, Newton was able to watch as the Tigers prepared for the Outback Bowl. During the Saturday practice, he saw the Auburn coaches in action, the players in action. He saw lead recruiter Curtis Luper, receivers coach Trooper Taylor and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn interacting with the players.
"My whole focus on coming to Auburn wasn't the glitz and glamour," he said. "It wasn't the parties. I wanted to talk football. I wanted to see the people they were talking about. Me seeing them practicing, I was like, 'man, this is real.' You got Coach Luper, Coach Troop, high-energy guys that you want around you that's going to keep your morale up as a player to perform at your best.
"You have Coach Malzahn, who honestly in my opinion, is one of the top up-and-up coordinators in the country. It's getting real big at Auburn."
Five-star quarterback Cameron Newton walked away from his official visit to Auburn Sunday with a big smile on his face … a big smile.
According to the 6-foot-6, 245-pound junior college standout, there were reasons, plenty of reasons, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Newton picked up a firm scholarship offer from the Tigers. He said he couldn't find anything bad about his visit. He enjoyed meeting the current Tiger players, the coaches.
"Everything went excellent," said Newton. "I'm on cloud nine right now."
Newton, ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 overall JUCO prospect in the country, arrived in Auburn Friday. He didn't have a dull moment while there.
"Auburn is making it hard on me," Newton said. "I'm going home not with just, 'hey mom and pops, they have this.' But 'they have this, that, they have all of this, you have to see this, you have to see that.'
"It's a major plus right now as far as recruiting and me committing. I really can't wait to get home to tell my parents what happened. I can't wait."
Newton said he spent a lot of time with Malzahn, who doubles as Auburn's quarterback coach. Newton was very impressed with what he saw and heard from the Tigers' second-year man. The numbers Malzahn has put up, Newton said, don't lie.
"The offense is real different, but it's different in explosiveness," said Newton. "Coach Malzahn was telling me the statistics he's had, the accolades he's been given. There's not a question of if this offense works, if this program works. He's got statistics to back it up.
"Tulsa…boom. He has that. He goes and makes an average quarterback good. He told me he could make a good quarterback great. That's what I want to hear."
Newton's player host on the visit was former Lovejoy (Ga.) standout Mario Fannin. Newton spent time with Fannin and several of the Tigers' players.
"Mario took me out Saturday and we had a blast, every single night, just talking," said Newton. "We are from the same part (of Georgia). He knows a lot of the same people I know. We talked. We talked about football half the time, but really just talked about life most of the time.
"Every night I was with the players. All of those guys talked to me about how I could make an impact coming into this program and make an immediate impact to this team."
Several of those players were receivers, Newton said.
"I sensed the vibe (from the receivers)," he said. "I could tell they were looking saying, 'C'mon.' It's funny, but at the same time you like that because you know you are important to them for them to even give you that type of attention."
The assistant coaches and players weren't the only people that impressed Newton. Head coach Gene Chizik spoke at-length with him throughout the week including Sunday morning. Newton said he likes what the future holds for Auburn under Chizik.
"Everything is on the up-and-up with Auburn football with Coach Chizik in full effect having control of this program," he said. "It's a positive thing as a recruit that you want to see.
"There are still a lot of things I have to get cleared with my father, who couldn't be with me because he's preaching, but I'm going home a happy guy knowing that the school I'm interested in is on the rise."
Newton has now taken official visits to Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Auburn. He said he would make a final decision between the three schools soon. Newton has graduated from junior college and would enroll at a four-year school in January with two years to play two.
"I'll make my decision probably next week or within the next 10 days, no later than the next 10 days," Newton said. "I really couldn't say I have a leader right now because at the end of the day I have to put it all out there. I liked what I saw at Mississippi State. I liked what I saw at Oklahoma. I liked what I saw at Auburn.
"As a player, as an athlete, my job is to make the best decision for me. I'm a junior college kid that has two years to fulfill my dreams as a college football player. Whichever team is giving me all of that, that's the team I'm going to ride with."
Newton wants to attend a school he could make an immediate impact. With the Tigers losing quarterback Chris Todd to graduation, Newton said Auburn offers him that opportunity.
"No doubt I could make an impact (at Auburn)," he said. "I want to go somewhere that I'm competing to be the man. I'm going to train myself mentally, physically, in every which way, to be the man. When it comes game time, it's not a secret that success is brought upon by hard work in the offseason."
Now all he has to do is officially decide where he wants to do that. That shouldn't take long.
EDIT: I left the homer first part out by mistake.
Means he is MSU bound. Of course that is a joke but I did find that phrase interesting If his does ultimately work out for MSU, do you realize the recognition this will brings to our program after having these schools offer? I am glad to be competing for a legit top prospect. Until we can seriously compete we should continue to expect heart attack recruiting like this. However we "are on the rise"!!!!