- 7 weeks ago
The overall consensus is that Cam Newton was a damn good football player. You can have opinions on his somewhat rollercoaster NFL career, but you kinda have to be a beast to be one of the few people who have won both an Hesiman trophy and an NFL MVP award. Let's forget those achievements for a second, though, to focus on Cam Newton's early rise. Because there was a time when none of that success looked remotely possible. A period where people didn’t even regard him as a quarterback. A waste of talent who found himself at the bottom ranks of football. Let’s meet those versions of Cam Newton in the Prism.
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00:00The overall consensus is that Cam Newton was a damn good football player.
00:05You can have opinions on this somewhat rollercoaster NFL career,
00:09but you kinda have to be a beast to join such an elite list
00:13that fewer than 10 people have achieved in the history of the sport.
00:17Let's forget the Heisman Trophy, the NFL MVP,
00:22and the interesting hats for a second to focus on Cam Newton's early rise.
00:28The hat part might be hard just because there are so, so many,
00:34but indulge me if you will.
00:36Because there was a time when none of that success looked remotely possible.
00:41A period where people didn't even regard him as a quarterback.
00:45A waste of talent who found himself at the bottom ranks of football.
00:49Let's meet those versions of Cam Newton in the prism.
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01:15Sometimes all it takes is the right people to recognize your value.
01:19Standing at 6'5 and 235 pounds,
01:22Cam dominated as quarterback at Westlake High School in Georgia,
01:25earning top honors as a collegiate prospect.
01:28A ranking of that nature typically indicates schools see star potential in the player,
01:33but many universities didn't see it that way for Cam.
01:36At least, not at quarterback.
01:38While he did receive multiple offers,
01:41some programs recruited him out of position.
01:43Or coaches just saw him as an afterthought at QB as they waited for other recruits they preferred to sign.
01:50Looking at you, Steve Spurrier.
01:53A damn good athlete that could still be a force in another spot?
01:56Sure.
01:57But someone to lead an offense with limited passing abilities?
02:01Nah.
02:03However, Cam stood strong in his signal-calling beliefs,
02:06and of the schools that offered him a scholarship at quarterback,
02:09he chose the University of Florida.
02:12On paper, the decision made a ton of sense.
02:15With the Gators, Cam would have the opportunity to join a squad fresh off a natty
02:19and vied for immediate playing time in an offensive scheme that fit his skill set
02:23under head coach Urban Meyer.
02:25When he arrived in Gainesville,
02:28Cam wowed his teammates with his natural talent whenever he hit the field.
02:32This is a squad fresh off a championship,
02:35saying their program had a bright future because of an incoming freshman.
02:39With more experience in fine-tuning,
02:42Cam's potential was through the roof,
02:44and experts believe the Gators wouldn't have any issues handing him the keys to the offense when the time came.
02:50However, the thing about potential is you first have to grow,
02:55and Cam got in his own way.
02:58An early-season injury in his sophomore season is a fair enough excuse for a delay in its development.
03:04This is real life, and we can't turn off injuries like in a video game,
03:08but getting hurt may have left Cam a little too much time on his hands.
03:14In November 2008, he was arrested and charged with multiple felony counts.
03:19Cam left his coach bewildered by the move.
03:22Look, I'm not a detective or one to judge as college kids and hell,
03:27even adults make stupid mistakes,
03:29but when you look into the specifics of the arrests,
03:31it speaks volumes about Cam's immaturity.
03:35He allegedly snatched a laptop,
03:37which was later reported stolen by another student,
03:40and traced back to Cam when he tried to log into the school's network
03:43with the username C.Newton.
03:46Follow me along this ride.
03:48Campus PD pulled up to Cam's dorm,
03:50spotted the laptop on his desk after he agreed to let him in,
03:54and when officers questioned him to confirm the serial number,
03:57Cam said he needed some space to speak with his lawyer,
04:00not necessarily admitting guilt,
04:02just getting his ducks in a row.
04:04The officers obliged,
04:06and when they returned,
04:07there was no laptop to be found.
04:10No harm, no foul.
04:13Except that said laptop was later found outside a garbage can painted all black,
04:18with a finish branding his name in all caps with a white paint on the front,
04:22which he allegedly tossed from his dorm window.
04:26Cam's attorney later claimed his client bought the laptop from someone
04:29and wasn't aware it was stolen,
04:31but the added flair of turning the computer into his own personal art project
04:35certainly wasn't the best look for that defense.
04:39This isn't me condemning a young kid.
04:42It's more to emphasize that the laptop incident was part of a string of Cam
04:46not taking his opportunities seriously.
04:48While teammates gushed about his untapped potential,
04:52they also pointed to his carefree attitude and goofiness as a detriment to his success.
04:57With Tim Tebow being the clear-cut starter,
05:01members of the Gators squad believed Cam wasn't locked in,
05:04which in turn allowed for more practice reps
05:06for another highly rated quarterback recruit, John Brantley.
05:10You can't dick around when your spot as the number two
05:12isn't even officially won yet.
05:15After the laptop incident where the charges against Cam were ultimately dropped,
05:19he served an indefinite suspension
05:21and had to watch his backup spot officially go to Brantley
05:24as the Gators went on to win another national championship without his involvement.
05:29Then the odds were stacked against him even deeper down in the swamp.
05:34With Tebow running it back, Brantley rising on the depth chart,
05:38and ugly accusations of cheating,
05:41which weren't officially reported until later,
05:43Cam announced his intention to transfer.
05:46Athletes in Cam's lowly position rarely expect to move on and reach the top immediately.
05:51Cam understood this and switched up his recruitment process in search of a fresh start,
05:56aiming to return to upper echelon competition at some point.
06:00With limited playing time under his belt,
06:02he sought out destinations where he could come in as a starter.
06:06Still, his main focus was improving his all-around game,
06:10especially developing as a passer rather than being turned into a one-dimensional option quarterback.
06:16After careful deliberation with his family,
06:19Cam chose Blint, a small junior college in Brenham, Texas.
06:24Going the junior college route was strategic.
06:26It allowed Cam to redeem himself and re-enter the top college ranks without losing a year of eligibility.
06:32If the goal was getting back to a D1 program,
06:35Blint certainly offered a great path for Cam.
06:39Except Blint initially wasn't that interested.
06:42The Buccaneers head coach Brad Frangione had to be urged by one of his colleagues to take a look into
06:47Cam.
06:48The ex-Gators' bona fides of backing up a Heisman winning quarterback were certainly enough to pique Frangione and his
06:54staff's interest,
06:55but usually where there's smoke, there's fire.
06:59Taking on a dude with past legal troubles wasn't necessarily ideal,
07:03and Blint had to make sure everything was smooth before they found themselves deep in a shit ship.
07:09Once Blint felt comfy proceeding,
07:12coach Fran discussed X's and O's with Cam and his family to walk through his development,
07:16but more than playstyle,
07:18Frangione wanted to make sure Cam was prepared for the role.
07:22It takes a strong leader to steer a program,
07:25and Frangione had to make sure Cam was prepared to put in the work to redefine his image.
07:31Once both sides committed,
07:33they knew they had a season to reach their goals.
07:36Experts considered Blint's quarterback position stacked with Cam's arrival,
07:40given the new transfer and returning backup Sean Rutherford.
07:44Meaning, Cam's spot as a starter wasn't even guaranteed.
07:49He had to earn it.
07:51Throughout fiery practice sessions,
07:53Newton and Rutherford battled it out to see who would be the top guy.
07:56And since hitting the quarterback wasn't allowed,
07:59Cam's ability to run through a defender's face was nuked,
08:02and the competition came down to passing.
08:05Rutherford held down the number one role for a bit,
08:08leaving Cam to hold kicks in practice,
08:10which didn't go over well for a dude hell-bent on getting back to D1.
08:17Then it happened.
08:18Cam had an incredible practice,
08:20hardly missing throws,
08:21and repeatedly finding the end zone with ease,
08:24to the point where Rutherford had to give him his props.
08:28Cam's teammates recognized his undeniable talent,
08:31but despite winning the starting job,
08:33they weren't really feeling him.
08:35Juco players frowned upon ex-Division 1 and 5-star athletes
08:39who would come into the building and walk around like their shit don't stink.
08:43Their realities were far different.
08:44At major D1 programs like Florida,
08:47players were treated like royalty,
08:50having access to first-class facilities,
08:52nutritionists for proper dieting,
08:54and what felt like an unlimited amount of money for equipment.
08:58Whereas at Blend,
08:59their weight room wasn't big enough for the entire team,
09:02and their pre-game meals consisted of a hodgepodge of foods
09:06that would be the most undesirable combo on any restaurant menu.
09:11Juco players believed that if you came from the top
09:14and found yourself slumming it with them,
09:16you really must not be as good as you thought you were.
09:20It also didn't help that Cam constantly ran his mouth.
09:24Whether it was barking at the defense in practice
09:26or challenging his coaches in the weight room,
09:29it became an everyday routine to hear Cam yapping.
09:33The constant talking initially came across
09:35as a cocky, disingenuous ex-wannabe star
09:38trying to impose his will on a new team,
09:41but the folks in Blend learned
09:42that's just genuinely who Cam was.
09:45The dude fully believed in himself,
09:47and once the squad warmed to his persona,
09:50Cam fully won him over
09:51with his fierce commitment to the grind
09:53both on and off the field.
09:55He worked his ass off conditioning in the summer
09:58to prep for the season,
09:59even tapping in with his teammates on off days
10:02to perfect his dropbacks
10:03and timing of routes with his receivers.
10:05It was coach Fran who initially proposed
10:08some sort of leadership training,
10:10but Cam was the one who stayed on top of his coach,
10:13demanding new knowledge whenever he caught him slacking.
10:16He kept an absurdly detailed notebook,
10:19charting every play in practice
10:20and throughout the season
10:22to understand the success rates
10:23of certain passes he tossed.
10:25He had an obsessive mentality in the film room,
10:28dissecting plays repeatedly to the point
10:30that the office of coordinator leaned on him
10:32to help install the play script for games.
10:35Cam wasn't moving like some hotshot
10:37simply seeing Blend as a stepping stone.
10:40He was fully bought in
10:41and his teammates fed off the energy.
10:44Maybe it took being humbled and humiliated,
10:47finding himself at a level of football
10:49he didn't imagine,
10:50but Cam's shift in his mindset
10:52paid off tremendously.
10:54During the 09 season,
10:56he lit up the junior college ranks,
10:58putting up absurd numbers
11:00en route to leading Blend to a national championship.
11:03I'll spare you the game-by-game details,
11:06but I'd be remiss if I didn't let you in
11:08on Cam Newton's 503 total yard performance,
11:12where he accounted for over half the team's points
11:14by himself in a matchup where Blend dropped a 60 ball
11:17on their rivals, Tyler Jr. College.
11:20The dude started the year as a relatively unknown,
11:23getting his name misprinted as Cameron Nelson
11:26in local newspapers,
11:27but by season's end,
11:29he had numerous major programs
11:31lining up to secure his talents.
11:34The transformation was incredible.
11:37While Cam had his pick of the litter
11:39during his recruitment,
11:40he narrowed his options to three schools
11:42and ultimately chose Auburn.
11:45What followed was a historic run
11:47with Cam winning the Heisman
11:49and leading the Tigers to a national championship
11:51in a year that many regarded
11:53as one of the best single-season performances
11:56of all time.
11:58That superb year was almost tainted
12:01by messy pay-for-play accusations
12:03involving Cam's dad, Cecil Newton,
12:06soliciting funds for Mississippi State.
12:08But Cam escaped clean
12:10after an NCAA investigation
12:11found that him and Auburn
12:14had no involvement
12:15and Cecil acted alone.
12:17After winning the Natty
12:19and securing the Heisman,
12:21Cam kept rolling
12:22and was selected number one overall
12:24by the Carolina Panthers in 2011
12:26and later achieved
12:27one of the league's highest honors.
12:30While his NFL career
12:32is mostly remembered
12:33by a complex mix of incredible highs
12:35and some disappointing lows,
12:37there is no doubt Cam
12:38is anything but a success,
12:41especially considering where he started.
12:44Major universities cast him aside
12:46only to recruit him as a tight end.
12:49He had a shot at Florida
12:50to succeed a legendary QB
12:52in his own right,
12:53but squirted that opportunity
12:54and found himself down
12:55in the lower ranks of football.
12:58Cam had to rebuild himself at Blinn
12:59and consistently credits his time there
13:01as a transformative period
13:03that led him to the greatness
13:04we've witnessed and remember today.
13:07His non-stop grind
13:08to better himself in that period
13:10is a testament to his success.
13:13Not encouraging you, of course,
13:15to go out and do mischievous deeds
13:17with a laptop,
13:18but simply a reminder
13:19that when you get knocked down,
13:21it's what you do after
13:22that people will remember.
13:33Thanks for watching this episode of PRISM.
13:36We're all just one theft away
13:38from becoming our best selves.
13:40If you enjoyed this,
13:41best believe our channel
13:43is filled with plenty of more bangers,
13:45so stick around
13:46and check some stuff out.
13:48We're all just one theft.
13:52We're all just one suction URLs that are
13:56in the comments.isesti,
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