Auburn Daily

Cam Newton Lashes Out at New Auburn QB, #2 Deuce Knight

Cam Newton drops a profanity laced rant over Deuce Knight flashing the #2 jersey he wore for the Auburn Tigers.

Keith Cummings

Cam Newton wore #2 in his lone season for the Auburn Tigers, but what a season it was.
Cam Newton wore #2 in his lone season for the Auburn Tigers, but what a season it was. / Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic
In this story:

Down on the Plains, the #2 shirt belongs to former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, and you better believe it... at least... according to Newton.

New high profile Auburn Tigers quarterback Deuce Knight likes sporting the #2 to go with his name, rather than some kind of instantaneous doff of the cap to the legendary Newton.

While some players freely surrender their old digits, Newton isn't ready to see the young protégé slip it on just yet, and backed it up with some pretty choice profanity.

"It's a f*** no for me," Newton declared during his 4th and 1 podcast show. "I like Deuce. Played against him - he was on Deestroying's 7-on-7 team when I did get the chance to see him and meet him. But in this day and age, bro, everything's earned. You've got to earn the right. And what you did in high school, nobody gives a f*** in college.

"I really hope that you're good. I really hope that you can stay at Auburn, I really hope that you can do everything that you're going to say. But as an avid, die-hard Auburn fan, it's easier said than done, bro. Like, win the locker room first. F*** numbers. F***,like, entitlement, F*** NIL. F*** all that shit. Bro, win a game."

Since Newton left AU back in 2010, no one has worn the #2 shirt he vacated but is yet to be officially retired - such is the aura the legendary signal caller has carried.

Knight appearing in photo shoots with Newton's number in tow might amount to a hill of beans in all honesty, but it lit a fuse under Newton regardless.

"You will not be wearing #2, especially not in your first year," Newton insisted. "I just don't want to nuke my product like that. Like, bro. ... I'll give you a scenario. If Chosen (Newton's son) happens to have an opportunity to go to Auburn, he's not wearing #2. You see what I'm saying? It's like, son, create your own legacy. I did. You feel what I'm saying? And to that point, it's the main reason why I never had a Junior.

"I don't want you to feel like you got to live up to that moment because it'd be an unrealistic expectation for you. Deuce, to have a number that only was worn lastly by me and for you to wear it next. And then, now, everybody's gonna be thinking, 'Damn, this motherf***er Cam let you wear this damn number and you sorry as f***. You don't even start, you don't even play.' Does that make sense? So I'm kind of doing you a favor."

Magnanimous as always, Cam Newton looking out for a young player. We're sure Deuce appreciates Newton looking out for his well being.

Just maybe, especially when we look way beyond the bar room vocabulary, Newton is blatantly using the stick rather than the carrot on Knight. Trouble is that once you wade through all the brawn and blag you might draw the fairly well-balanced conclusion that Newton is indeed a full fledged egomaniac.

That's as maybe, but we all know that heavy is the head that wears the crown nonetheless. Past history tells us that things have most certainly not worked out for a succession of Auburn quarterbacks, regardless of the digit they asked to be stitched onto their shirt.

Make no bones about it, Newton wants his beloved former program to return to the winning circle, and their fortunes might come to rest with Knight moving forward.

As far as motivation goes, Newton is undoubtedly coming from the left field, but he also is willing to open negotiations at some point if things work out peachy for Knight as if he owns the number rather than the university he spent one year attending.

"But bro, I want you to ball," Newton pleaded. "Please, ball. And then, next year, come holler at me."

However you might decipher Newton's explosive rant, we can consider the message sent.

Published
Keith Cummings
KEITH CUMMINGS

Home/Football