College football player Cameron Newton is a quarterback for the Auburn Tigers football team. On December 11, 2010, Newton won the 2010 Heisman Trophy, beating out Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Oregon running back LaMichael James and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore for the award. Newton was the 76th player to win the award.http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/12/cam-newton-wins-heisman/1 He was also named the AP Player of the Year in 2010.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5947292

Newton formerly played with the Florida Gators and at Blinn College before coming to Auburn in 2009 to play for the Tigers. In 2010, Newton was named the starting quarterback for the team and went on to lead them to an undefeated season and number-one ranking as well as a spot in the BCS Championship Game.http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/2/auburn-tigers

In addition to playing football at three colleges, Newton also played in on the prep level at Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia. During his junior season, he topped 2,500 passing yards. He was invited to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl and named one of nine quarterbacks on the Super Southern 100 list as named by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/newton_cameron00.html

In November 2010, reports surfaced that linked Newton to a possible breach in NCAA recruiting rules. According to Kenny Rogers, a recruiter for Mississippi State University, Newton's father, Cecil, allegedly requested a sum of money as much as $180,000 in order for Cameron Newton to play for the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team. Auburn initially defended Newton, allowing him to play during the 2010 season, then changed their position just prior to the 2010 SEC Championship by declaring the quarterback ineligible. The school immediately filed for reinstatement from the NCAA, which was granted. The NCAA ruled that Cecil Newton did violate recruiting rules, but Cameron Newton was not aware of or involved in the actions.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5870788

Playing as a backup to Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, Newton made his college football debut in 2007 with the Florida Gators. He played in five games, completing five of 10 passes for 40 yards and added significant numbers as a rusher, including 16 carries for 103 yards and three touchdowns.http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/newton_cameron00.html He began the 2008 season with the Gators, but ran into legal trouble when he was accused of stealing a laptop computer from another student. While he later explained that he purchased the stolen laptop and the charges were dropped in lieu of a pre-trial diversion program, Newton was suspended by the team and later transferred.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/05/24/newton-auburn/index.html

Newton spent the 2009 season with Blinn College, leading the team to the NJCAA National Football Championship before coming to Auburn in 2010.http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/newton_cameron00.html He overcame previous issues to lead the Tigers to a successful start to the season, including earning FBS National Performer of the Week by College Football Performance Awards and SEC Offensive Player of the Week for week one.http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090610aaa.html