Benjamin Southerland - Cam Newton: A Biography of the Electrifying Quarterback

Copyright 2017 Benjamin Southerland

All rights reserved. Neither this book nor any portion thereof may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission. Published in the United States of America.

Cover photo by Keith Allison is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 / Modified from original.

Visit Benjamin Southerlands website at benjaminsoutherland.com.

Its December 24, 2015, the day before Christmas, and Cam Newton has just left practice to care for what reports are calling A personal matter. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera assures the media Its nothing injury-related, but fans are still skeptical. This is a man who, the previous year, sustained a potentially deadly car accident, and they just want to make sure that the star of their team, and the lifeline of their town, is OK.

Three days later, the Panthers will lose their first game of the season, an away game against the Atlanta Falcons, dashing their hopes of an undefeated year and falling to a disappointing 14-1. In actuality, the game will mean nothing, and the Panthers will still enter the playoffs with a first-round bye and home-field advantage. More importantly, in the coming weeks, more will come out on his mysterious exit from practice: on Christmas Eve, Cam welcomed his first child into the world, a son he named Chosen.

And just like that, Cam Newton embarks on a journey far bigger than any thats preceded itand were talking about a man whos made three Pro Bowls and three playoff berths in five seasons, signed a huge contract exceeding $100 million at the beginning of 2015, and has become a superstar in the sports world; before that, the number one draft pick, the national championship with Auburn; back further still, to the struggles at Florida, the controversies, the year at a junior college, the unknowns; a star at Georgias Westlake High; and then, as a boy, the tenuous but ultimately formative relationship with his father; and, finally, when he took his first breaths, as his son does now. To understand who Cam Newton is, we must first understand the path he took to get to this point, to be in this moment.

Cameron Jerrell Newton was born on May 11, 1989, in Atlanta, Georgia, to parents Cecil and Jackie. Cecil had played small school ball at Savannah State and had pro ambitions, but after failing to make a pro roster after his college years, he resolved to make the dream a vicarious one. That meant that from the days Cam and his older brother, Cecil Jr., came into this world, the end goal was quite clear. The important thing is, unlike some father-son relationships where the father seems to be pushing his son against his will, far further than he ever wanted to go, this wasnt the case for Camhe wanted to be great just as much as his father wanted it for him.

I grew up trying to be like my idols, and one of the main people in my life was my father, says Cam. He played football. Everybody wants to be like their father.

Cam did everything he could to be like his dad growing up. At an age where most kids have dreams of becoming a firefighter or a police officer, Cam knew that his calling was footballand it helped that he had the genetics and the upbringing to facilitate this path.

Though Cecil Newton Sr. had been a bit too small to compete at the professional level, both Cam and his older brother, Cecil Jr., were of formidable size from a young age. By the time he was eight years old, Cam was nearly five feet tall and weighed about 100 pounds. Hed routinely skip meals before pee-wee football weigh-in so that hed be light enough to play in the games.

But it wasnt until middle school that Cams talents truly came to the forefront. Puberty began to set in, and the already-large Cam grew exponentially. In spite of his size, his glasses and floppy afro offered a more affable, goofy appearance than the superior athletic prowess that lay dormant in his preeminently large preteen framein fact, they gave off the impression of a kid more interested in reading novels than a playbook. As it turns out, success in the former can lead to the latter, but this was still quite a ways off. It was evident early on, though, that Cam was quite bright.

Learning came naturally to Cam, says his Camp Creek Middle School teacher Marie Caldwell, whom Cam comes to visit every year. It was difficult to get him to focus and settle down because he had a lot of energy. The same level of energy you see on the football field today is the same level we saw in the Camp Creek hallways. He was a child who liked to have a good time and laugh.

Cams mother, Jackie, is credited with making sure that Cam kept his grades up and maintained a good standing in the classroomthere was to be no football, or recreational activities of any kind, before he had finished his homework.

Of course, the middle school years are also when great athletic talents are first recognized, as this is the first period during which athletes can play for school-associated squads. Unfortunately for Cam, Camp Creek didnt field a football squad, so that meant hed have to be content with the pee-wee leagues until he reached high school. But that was just fine for Cam, because he was going to find his way to prove himself one way or anotherand that meant telling anyone who would listen around the Camp Creek halls that he was going to be a professional football player someday.

Even though we didnt have a football team, I remember students buzzing, even back then, about his football ability, says Newtons middle school basketball coach, Twayne Eddie.

But there would be plenty of time to make anyone who was skeptical at that point a believer, because Cams years at Westlake High School were still to come. But Cam began high school not nearly as physically imposing as hed seemed during his pee-wee days: though markedly taller than his peers, he was quite skinny, and skeptics asked themselves if this was truly the gridiron godsend that so many had purported him to be.

Plus: this was Westlake High School. That may not mean much to the uninitiated, but for anyone who follows football recruiting or is from the South, the name Westlake elicits instant recognition. The schools fielded nearly a dozen NFL football players in its history, and is a hotbed for talent in the greater Atlanta areawere talking names like Adam Pacman Jones (2002) and Eric Berry (2007), perennial Pro Bowlers and powerhouse players. Plus, his brother, Cecil Jr., was making a huge name for himself as one of the most talented offensive linemen Georgia high school football had ever seen.

But who was this cocky, lanky freshman quarterback whod just arrived on the scene?

Throughout his first year of high school and into his second, the answer to the question remained to be seen. Though Cam impressed his head coach early on in his freshman year and was one of the few first-year players to receive the high honor of getting bumped up to the varsity squad, he remained firmly planted on the bench for that inaugural season. Early in his sophomore year, the starting quarterback sustained an injury, so Cam was sent into a game late in the fourth quarter, down a touchdown and with everything riding on his shoulders.

Would this be the start of the legend of Cam Newton?

Nohe would fumble a snap, ironically from his brother, and that would be the end of the game.

The hype train would temporarily come to a halt as far as the Cam Newton story was concerned. But as high school coach Dallas Allen recalls, it was evident even at his young age that Cams the kind of kid where things just roll off his back like water. And as we know, this minor hiccup would dry right up like a summers rainand it would be quite far from the end of his journey.