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BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: AUBURN v OREGONJanuary 5, 2011Cam NewtonGLENDALE, ARIZONA Q. Did you get a good night's sleep? CAM NEWTON: Did I? Did I get a good night's sleep? Absolutely. I feel well rested. Q. How are you liking Arizona? CAM NEWTON: I'm really loving the atmosphere right now, man. Just being around teammates, having a lot of social charm up and to this point and, you know, just catching good games and whatnot. Q. Did you see the game last night? CAM NEWTON: Yeah, I did. It was an exciting game down to the end. Both teams played their hearts out. Only one team can win. Q. After the SEC title game, Coach Chizik said you were the best college football player he has ever seen. What's it like having that kind of compliment from a guy like Chizik? CAM NEWTON: I think he just raised the bar for, you know, just me as a whole. Any time a person gets that type of label, I mean, I think you have to hold up your end of the bargain. And I'm just going to continually do what I have been doing and first just listening to my coaches and being coachable. And everything else will take care of itself. Q. When you see the Ducks' defense on film, what jumps out at you? CAM NEWTON: How many times they are putting pressure on the quarterback. I think that goes unnoticed. I said before, they're a very underrated defense, especially how many times they're on the field, how long they're on the field for with their offense. They blitz a lot, try to cause a lot of confusion. With all that confusion, you know, it is very -- they end up being very successful. Q. Anything in particular on their middle linebacker that stands out in your eyes? CAM NEWTON: He is an athlete, really, looking at a lot of the linebackers that has this type of frame. He has a unique ability to make plays at such a high level but as well as being so physical as well. Q. Cam, Coach Chizik was at Texas when Vince was there. Have you ever been compared to him? Do you feel like your style of play is similar? CAM NEWTON: No. I've tried to take a lot of Vince's habits on the field and try to apply it to mine. So I can see the kind of resemblance. Q. How does playing in this championship game compare to the championship game you played last year in junior college? CAM NEWTON: This. Q. Yeah. CAM NEWTON: This. Like, this right here. Like, with all the media, you know. I mean, I probably had, what, two people interviewing me after the game about how I felt. But this is before the game, and this is what I get. So this is a big difference. Q. Did you have any idea that this was possible a year ago? CAM NEWTON: It was in my dreams. And right now I'm pinching myself because I feel like I'm in a dream every single day I wake up now. Q. Are you aware that Heisman Trophy winners have had a tough time in the championship game? Any thoughts about that? CAM NEWTON: I'm aware about it, but I'm trying to break that trend. Like I said, I'm just going to continuously do what got us here. You know, just do that and hopefully we will be successful. Q. Are the nerves starting to creep in a little bit? CAM NEWTON: Not really. I think the coaching staff has had -- did an excellent job in keeping everything sound and keeping us level headed, know what the task is at hand every single day, whether we are practicing or watching film. The coach does an excellent job in letting us know what we need to do. Q. Does playing in the SEC and the media attention, it's different than playing in the Pac-10 and what Oregon has faced. Does that better prepare you for kind of having to deal with the media and just dealing with the pressures of this game? CAM NEWTON: Man, I wouldn't know. I have only played in the SEC. So, like you said, is it different? I wouldn't know. I just know how the SEC is and just leave it at that. Q. Is this like the SEC championship game as far as the media and kind of the scrutiny behind it? CAM NEWTON: No. I mean, this is more, what, in tune to the game. We are a week away from -- a couple days before the game. And everything is tuned into that game. There's only two, maybe one day before the game that everything was really involved about the SEC championship. We are playing for the national championship. And, you know, it is kind of a big deal. Q. Did you see the Orange Bowl game? And did watching what Stanford did to Virginia Tech give you any kind of renewed respect for Oregon because of how they played Stanford? CAM NEWTON: Never not had respect for Oregon. Stanford, I guess -- I guess set the tone for everybody else. Especially with having the label explosive offense. They really did their job and, you know, Andrew Luck did an excellent job in running his team or running the show with that. Q. You guys have had some great comebacks this year, that Alabama game and some of the early games. What does that do for the team psyche when you continually pull games out like that? Is that a confidence factor for this game? CAM NEWTON: I think it builds team chemistry. You know, that's something that you just can't -- the coaches can talk all day about we need to do this, we need to do that. But being in so many close games, as a whole, as a whole -- as a whole team, I think it works wonders for the whole team as a whole because, like I said, you just can't go get that at the corner store. That's something you have to deal with in real life. So we had a couple of those games, and I think we got the good end of the stick with that. Q. What do you think of the BCS format? Would you prefer a playoff? CAM NEWTON: Would I? I can want for a lot of things, but I'm pretty sure it is not going to happen. I don't think the playoffs is really going to happen. A lot of things have to go into effect when talking about playoffs. We played -- this is going to be our 14th game right now. I'm pretty sure with playoffs, we will have to play more games if college football allows that to happen. Q. Do you feel like your skills are ready for the NFL, Cam? CAM NEWTON: I really don't want to talk about that right now. My focus right now is on this football game. Q. Any comparisons you can draw to any other game you have ever played in to this one? CAM NEWTON: This game right here? Played in the junior college national championship. That's about it. Q. Did the pressure of trying to win a national championship in junior college, does that help you as you step onto the field? Not necessarily dealing with the media but does just having played in one help you for this game? CAM NEWTON: No. I mean, this game is probably the biggest game of so many people on this team or whoever is part of this program's biggest game of everybody's career or whatnot. I mean, hands down, Auburn hasn't had -- this is the first appearance of a BCS championship. So this is something that everybody is looking forward to doing and taking -- trying to take full advantage of it. Q. Teams are always talking about, when they play Oregon, ball control, keep their offense off the field. You guys play up tempo. Have you talked at all in practice about changing the way you guys go about it, keeping the ball, or is it business as usual? CAM NEWTON: Not really. I think Oregon puts a lot of pressure on the opposing team off the mere fact that they have an explosive offense, so they are going to put up points. And while watching film, you kind of sense that their offense puts pressure on the opposing offense to want them to get their game plan going into the game. You go from a team in the first quarter trying to be balanced to the second quarter and third quarter just trying to keep up with their offense. Then the game gets really out of hand after that. You have to be balanced and stick to the game plan playing this team. Q. Is it more important not to fall in one of those early holes that you guys have been able to dig your way out of? CAM NEWTON: Absolutely. This game, you try to -- we are going to go in trying to start as fast as we can because, you know, with this team, when they go up on teams, they go up by a large amount. And we can't get down like that. We can't put ourselves in bad situations. Q. What do you remember about the junior college championship game, people there, the way the game was played? CAM NEWTON: I remember it was very cold. (Smiling). It was a great atmosphere to be in, but that's something that I will take to my grave just being around something that we work very hard for. And, you know, this season kind of resembles that. Hard work pays off. Q. Surrounded by cameras and everything like you are right now, microphones, do you kind of miss that day, a little more about football and not about -- CAM NEWTON: It has always been about football. I mean, it's about football right now. I probably wouldn't even be here right now, especially with the success. And that's the name of the game. If you are good, you are going to get this. If you are not, that's why you prepare on the off-season to be the best you can be. Q. Who from your family is coming to the game? What does this moment mean to them? CAM NEWTON: I haven't got -- my mom hasn't sent me the names of the people that are coming to the game. But I'm pretty sure they are coming from Georgia and they are going to be loud and proud. Q. Are there any particular Ducks' games that you are watching? What games are you watching to see how they play? CAM NEWTON: I'm a big fan of Oregon, just -- they had the label of, I said it earlier, the explosive offense. And every single game that I have watched, they have not let the viewer down. They are putting up excellent statistics and, you know, with that, they are putting points on the board. And you can see they execute the plays to perfection, it seems like. You have to respect a team that does that. Q. What do you think is their biggest strength? CAM NEWTON: The biggest strength is probably their offense and having that type of monster to try to tackle just -- you know, so many weapons on the offense side of the ball. Like I say, they put so much pressure on the opposing team to make them keep up with them. And it gets the opposing offense off balance. Q. What quality about Coach Chizik impresses you the most? CAM NEWTON: He is a player's coach. I mean, he really is. He takes pride in making his players very appreciative of playing for him. Ever since I have known him, he's a humble guy, a family-oriented guy. And with that, you only can -- you got to respect that. Q. Who is like you? Who do you like to watch quarterback-wise? CAM NEWTON: Any quarterback that is considered good, you know. I'm trying -- I'm trying to watch them. I'm a fan of football first. And if I feel there's a trait that I don't have in my game, I'm going to try to take it from another quarterback that I saw or seen and try to apply it to my own. Q. Is there anybody you compare yourself to, one guy? CAM NEWTON: Not really. I try to take a lot from so many different other quarterbacks. Q. Can you talk about the Oregon offense? Can you talk about their defense? They cause turnovers. They have got a decent pass rush. What do you see from them defensively? CAM NEWTON: From the defensive side of the ball, watching them, just fly around to the football. They have so many different blitz schemes, so many different personnels that it causes confusion with the first offensive line. If the offensive line is confused, ain't no telling what the quarterback's thinking or how he's feeling. But I think they'll do an excellent job in disguising where they are coming from or what they do. They do it very well. Q. How would you describe Emory Blake as a player? CAM NEWTON: He is a very up-and-coming player. I think the bar is set very high for Emory coming into the season. And Coach Malzahn challenged Emory to be the best player that you can be. And I think Emory has had some clutch catches and just doing his job throughout the season. Q. How close is their scheme offensively to what you guys do? Aren't there some parallels in the way they run their stuff? CAM NEWTON: From looking from the outside in, it is very easy to put us in the same boat as in the spread offense. But from the inside out, it is completely different. Q. In what ways? CAM NEWTON: Just -- I really don't know their offense. I just see them running it, just how they block it, who they are reading. It always could be kind of tricky to see. It looks the same, but it is really not the same. Q. You said you look at other quarterbacks for traits you may not have. Help us. What traits do you not have? CAM NEWTON: Well, I mean, I always can get better at what I do. For me to get complacent would be the day that I take a step back. I'm always continuously trying to get better and better. You look at the Peyton Mannings, the Tom Bradys, the Andrew lucks, the Jake Lockers, Terrelle Pryor, all these guys have something different they bring to the table. I'm a fan of all those guys. I'm just trying -- continuously trying to see what they do, what makes them that good player or that great player and apply it to my own. Q. Did you watch Vince Young in that Rose Bowl? CAM NEWTON: Absolutely. I was glued to the T.V. Q. Where were you? REPLACE NAME: I was at home watching it with my family. For me to be so -- to look up to a person like Vince Young and just to see how he took over a football game, that's very encouraging. And hopefully I could have half the performance that he did. Q. How much have you changed since you were at Florida? CAM NEWTON: I think the biggest thing that I've changed was my mental aspect on life as a whole. I think when I was at Florida -- well, I know when I was at Florida, I was very immature and I was a boy. And going through the roles that I did go, I think I have matured and grown into a man. Q. (Question about Blinn College.) CAM NEWTON: Blinn was probably the school that had a consistent record year in and year out. Coach Brad Franchione was a person we tried to contact and reach out to to see how he ran his program, and he was one of the top-rated junior college -- he ran one of the top-rated junior college programs in America. That's where I was trying to be. Q. What did you learn in junior college that has helped you this year? CAM NEWTON: Honestly not taking things for granted. I think it was harder for me to go to Florida and then step down to junior college rather than out of high school, go to junior college because I knew what the elite football -- college football had to offer. I was watching Tim Tebow. I have seen the Percy Harvins. I see how they prepare for the games and watching that to watching guys that is not even on your level as far as playing or the way you even think, that was very hard for me. I really appreciated the whole process during junior college because, like I said, I really -- I really took a lot of things for granted before that time. Q. Do you appreciate the painting that you had to do there? CAM NEWTON: Did I appreciate it then? I didn't. That's something -- that's part of the process that you have to do. You just have to swallow your pride and just do it because everything happens for a reason. I know everybody has heard that slogan, and I am a firm believer of that. Q. How long were you out there painting? CAM NEWTON: We would workout first, and then there would be two groups. When that group got finished working out, the other group would go paint. So it was something not to look forward to. Q. What do you see in Cliff Harris, the Ducks' quarterback? CAM NEWTON: You know, he is a very exciting player, not just him but the whole Oregon defensive back core. That's something that if those guys have a chance of making a play on the ball, they are going to make a play on the ball. Q. How do you approach playing someone like that, a playmaker who wants to make a play on the ball? CAM NEWTON: You have to be cautious. You have to have that radar. I will put it like that because if you put the ball in his vicinity, you might not get it back. Q. What do you do when you come into a program cold, a winner, to become a leader? How do you get the guys behind you? CAM NEWTON: Honestly, that's something that either can be a good thing or a bad thing because a person that has so much status going into a program, everybody has -- already has their thoughts about it. Who was this? He probably thinks he is going to get this and that. But for me, I really wanted to go into Auburn and earn everything that I got with the team respect, trying to be that leader on this football team. And I knew it was a price I had to pay. Q. Can you talk about Nick Fairley, another junior college guy that came in and took over right away and didn't need that period of adjustment coming out? CAM NEWTON: Well, Nick is exciting to watch. He just motivates the whole offense, just watching them on the sideline. And any time you see the defense make a play, you know, it is your job to go back out there and make a play yourself. So watching Nick in the whole defensive line just go out there and wreak havoc out there, that's something that we like to see. And we know if those guys are out there working hard, we will try to do the same thing. Q. You faced Bowers and Marcell Darius. Is there any quality that sets Nick apart in any way from those guys? CAM NEWTON: I love all great players. I'm not just saying this because he is my teammate. But I have more time to look at Nick than any other players. I see Nick just be dominant on the whole, play after play after play. That's something that especially with the D line, you might see a person come one time and he's probably through for that whole series. Nick is capable of taking over and just making -- putting the quarterback in panic mode the whole drive. Q. You have been in the limelight all season. How has your life changed since winning the Heisman? CAM NEWTON: It has changed quite a bit. Getting such a prestigious award like that, you know all the eyes are on you. And you just got to take that knowing in the back of your mind that you're part of the fraternity that holds such great honor and you just got to do what you have to do. Q. Did you have a favorite on the top ten list of the ten? Do you remember those? Was there a favorite one? CAM NEWTON: On the "Letterman Show," you're talking? Q. Yeah. CAM NEWTON: I remember them, but I didn't really have no favorite. That wasn't something that I came up with. Q. How much do you think the layoff will affect you guys with the timing and that kind of thing? CAM NEWTON: I hope it doesn't affect us at all. I think this whole process was something we needed, especially with the long season that we had. It is a lot of guys that's going to be playing healthy for a long time. A lot of times during the season, everything wasn't healthy. And I think this game, everything will be healthy and at 100%. But at the same time, we have to -- we have to practice well, leading up to the game so by game time, we can have the same timing and be able to execute the plays. Q. How tough is it to get that timing back? CAM NEWTON: That's something that you can just say we got our timing back. But you got to come out every single day in practice and just work on it because one day you can look like 100 bucks and the next day you can just look like nothing. We're just going out there every single day and just doing everything that got us to this point. Q. Can you talk about how Gus Malzahn is different than the other offensive coaches you have worked with? CAM NEWTON: Coach Malzahn applies pressure on all his players. He expects so much out of them. And he raised the bar for every single one of his players as long as I have been around him. He's a person that you can trust with any type of situation. He has his door open for anybody. But as a coach, he is a person that demands greatness. He is somebody that puts football -- he takes it serious. That's his job. That's what he does. And he is trying to be the best at what he does. You see his résumé in high school of the success that he has had, and he's trying to get that same success at the collegiate level. Q. Can you talk about the Oregon defense, and do you think it's possible that they could come up with something in 37 days that you guys haven't seen yet? CAM NEWTON: I mean, they have had 37 days. That's something you just have to be prepared for when the game starts. Q. The big defensive tackle, Brandon Bair, he is known for being tall. Brandon Bair, he is 6-foot, known for being tall and getting his hands on a few passes. CAM NEWTON: Absolutely. They have some explosive players on that defensive. And like I said earlier, you just have to have a radar and just be alert to everybody that's out there and know what they're capable of doing and try to attack them as best as you can. Q. What do you think it says about you that you played for a national championship last year and you are playing for one this year? What do you think it says about you in terms of your desire to win? CAM NEWTON: I don't know. I'm just trying to go out there and win football games. Q. You guys have won some -- CAM NEWTON: That's all I'm trying to do. I think as a quarterback, you have a better legacy if you go 0-14 and you win the football game rather than you go 14-14 with 400 yards and you lose a football game. So at the end of the day, I'm just trying to get the W and bring something back to Auburn that hasn't been around in a long time. Q. For some who are not as familiar about having seen all your games, is there something where if they go to watch this game that they should know about you, something you would want them to know about you? CAM NEWTON: What you see is what you get. That's pretty much it. Q. Two months removed from everything you went through and your family went through, how do you look at that situation now? CAM NEWTON: Look back at it and consider it a blessing. I think that whole process has made me stronger, and I opened my eyes to the fact of who is in this process for me and whether it is family members, friends or whatever. I learned about so many people that are very close to me. Q. Is your dad coming? CAM NEWTON: Yes, he's coming. Q. Do you have recollections of watching Vince Young against USC in that national championship game? CAM NEWTON: Absolutely. Vince Young was very dominant in that game, and that's something that you go on YouTube and type that in and you just get goose bumps just watching it. Q. You guys won quite a few close games this year. How is it you were able to pull those games out? CAM NEWTON: For us, we have a lot of guys on this team that are very relentless and. Just playing with those guys, just motivates me as a player, to play for them and risk it all on every single play, just to play with those guys. We have so many people on this team go unnoticed of the fact that they put their team first. No matter what the situation is, you have people that were very intricate in making plays last year that are really not making place this year. But you don't hear them complaining. They are just doing the job that the coaches have for them, and they are doing it to the best of their ability. Q. Do you think the close victories make you guys battle-tested? CAM NEWTON: Absolutely. I think I said earlier, you can't go get team chemistry at the nearest corner store. You have to go through it in real-life terms to get it. Q. Guys stepping up, can you talk about Terrell and Darvin and just what they bring to the table and how much they have helped you. CAM NEWTON: They make my job very easy. Darvin is a person that demands the football and demands being good at what we do, whether it is blocking, whether it is catching a punt, whether it is catching a football. That's a person that the coaches can point to and say, That's how you do it. He is a 100% all-around football player. And Terrell is just a person that we try to get the ball to and just watch out because he has that "it" factor in the open fields. Q. Big deal about Oregon, everyone talks about their speed. But you guys have some wheels too now. CAM NEWTON: We are all right. (Smiling). Q. What do you think about the perception that Auburn is just a one-man team with you? What do you think about that perception? CAM NEWTON: I'm not a big fan of that. You know, like I said, we have a lot of people on this team that don't get mentioned. And it is not fair but they do their job. And without them doing their job, I wouldn't be in this situation right now. Q. Where specifically is your Heisman? CAM NEWTON: The Heisman that I have? It is at my house. Q. Anywhere in a place of honor? CAM NEWTON: I don't know. (Smiling). I have been home. I gave it to my mom and my grandma, so they do all the interior decorating at my house. So it might be in the kitchen one day and the living room the next. Q. Any neighbors coming over? CAM NEWTON: There has been a lot of people coming over. I have a problem with that. Q. How have you dealt with your celebrity so far? Are you able to go out in public without being mobbed? Do you have any interesting stories without people descending upon you? CAM NEWTON: I went shopping -- I tried to go shopping yesterday, and I felt as if it was a memo to everybody that Cam Newton is coming. It is kind of crazy. Q. What do you appreciate about Lee, how much he does for you? CAM NEWTON: Lee Ziemba? I love that guy. Lee is a person that has a contagious type of attitude about being a team player. Without the people likely on this football team, we wouldn't have near the success that we do. Q. Do you think the game will be a shootout? CAM NEWTON: I don't know. We are just going to do our job and hopefully we will have good results. End of FastScripts |
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