If college football actually happens as planned, Auburn will be must-watch television, even before the season starts officially in August.
Caylin Newton announced Friday that he would be following the lead of his big brother, Cam, with a transfer to Auburn. He will be making the move, from Howard University, eight months after entering the transfer portal.
The younger Newton was a standout at Howard, but will play on a bigger stage after taking the leap.
Newton, who is five inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than his big bro, will be immediately eligible upon transfer, because he was able to preserve his fourth year of eligibility by participating in only four games last season. That was just enough to redshirt under the NCAA guidelines. Howard was 1-5 just before Newton entered the transfer portal. Newton is best known for helping the Bisons upset UNLV, 43-40, as a true freshman in 2017. Howard was a 45-point road underdog.
Another layer to this is a quarterback battle on the horizon between the next wave of Newtons and Nixes, which many Auburn fans are already familiar with.
Bo Nix, Auburn’s quarterback last season, won SEC freshman of the year and led the Tigers to a 9-4 record, capping off the year with a stunning 48-45 Iron Bowl win over rival Alabama.
Nix also happens to be the son of Tigers great Pat Nix, who led the Tigers to a perfect 11-0 season in 1993. However, they weren’t able to compete in postseason play that year due to NCAA violations.
Cam Newton transferred to Auburn for his senior season after beginning his NCAA career at Florida before moving to Blinn College. Newton went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2010 and lead Auburn to a National Championship win over Oregon, 22-19. In 2010, Newton had become just the third black quarterback to win the Heisman in the award’s 75-year history — there have since been four more black quarterbacks to win the award.
Cam Newton became a free agent this year when he was released by the Carolina Panthers after 9 seasons. He led them to Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos and also became the league MVP that season.
With both the Newton and Nix families having ties to the football world — and quarterback genetics working in their favor — camp later this summer in Alabama should be fun to watch.
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