When they give those television introductions of the players in the Super Bowl, chances are Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers is not going to say he’s from Blinn Junior College of Texas.
It’s something he should think about, though, because it would be a fitting tribute to the key part of his football path that got him to the Feb. 7 Super Bowl, and he owes it all to Blinn and Tim Tebow.
Newton was the biggest reason that Auburn won the 2010 season national championship (on Jan. 10, 2011), beating Chip Kelly’s Oregon Ducks, 22-19. Leaving the Florida Gators for Blinn was the best decision Newton ever made. Newton was having disciplinary and academic issues at Florida, and the year at Blinn not only enabled him to get those two issues in order but to win a national JUCO championship. If the Panthers beat the Denver Broncos, Newton will have a NFL championship to go along with JUCO and FBS national championships.
That’s quite a legacy for a guy only 26 years old and he owes it all to Tebow. After Tebow announced he was coming back to Florida for his senior year after winning the 2008 national title, that’s when Newton — then Tebow’s backup — decided to leave the Gators. Tebow’s announcement came on Jan. 10, 2009 — two years to the day before Newton won his national title at Auburn. Getting away from Florida and then run-obsessed offensive coordinator Steve Addazio allowed Newton to expand his game into a future NFL pinpoint passer.
Getting to Blinn attracted Auburn, and the rest was history. Had he remained at Florida, the skillset that attracted the NFL to him would have been stunted by Addazio, the current head coach at Boston College. Since he cannot thank Tebow in the introductions, the next best thing would be to give the Blinn Buccaneers a super shout out.
