Cam Newton, former Heisman winner, living normal Auburn student life including intramural hoops
The news that Cam Newton was at Auburn, taking classes this semester a couple years after winning a Heisman Trophy and leaving to become a star with the Carolina Panthers, was fun to hear.
We had no idea how serious Newton would be about being a normal student. So serious that according to The War Eagle Reader, he wanted to play some intramural basketball at Auburn, like anyone else. Except this anyone else is 6-5, 245 pounds and had one of the greatest seasons in the history of college football in 2010.
But other than that, he blends right in.
The War Eagle Reader has been chronicling Newton's return to school. It reported that Newton did not want anything special when he enrolled, like a car to take him to and from class or any other method to keep him separated a bit from the rest of the curious student body. The athletic department apparently discussed it, but Newton wanted no part of it. Apparently everything Newton does during his days in class is like any other college student.
He also has led cheers in the student section at basketball games. Take a look at the video from Wednesday night's game between Auburn and Alabama, and especially the female student on Newton's right who is having the time of her life hanging out at the hoops game with Auburn's most famous student.
And then there's Newton joining an intramural basketball team. Ryan Holderfield, a senior studying aerospace engineering, was getting ready to play Thursday night when Kodi Burns, himself a star on the 2010 national championship team and currently an Auburn coach, made an unbelievable request according to The War Eagle Reader.
“A guy on my team was sitting on the bench and Kodi (Burns) walked up to him and asked if he could play with us. He said Cam will be here in a few,” Holderfield, a senior at Auburn studying aerospace engineering, told The War Eagle Reader. “The team we played tonight didn’t show up to play. But they played some pick up games with us.”
Don't believe it? Here's a picture of Newton playing some hoops from The War Eagle Reader:
For any Panthers fans/coaches/executives having a panic attack, the story says it was clear he didn't play as hard as he could to avoid injuries.
This is a very cool story (and a great idea by The War Eagle Reader to track Newton being a normal student). Not many people as famous as Newton would go back to school in the first place, much less try so hard to just be one of the crowd. It's also pretty cool for those Auburn students who just happen to be hanging out on campus with a guy they see on television commercials.
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