SEC connection: Cam Newton put the recruiting blitz on ‘Blindside’ lineman
By Nick Cole
Published:
Cam Newton and Michael Oher are just two of the many SEC players that will star in Super Bowl 50, but there’s an interesting story to the relationship between the former Ole Miss OL and Auburn QB.
Oher’s NFL career was in a bad spot at the end of the 2014 season.
He had just been let go by a Tennessee Titans team that had one of the worst records in the league and a desperate need for effective offensive linemen.
On the heels of his departure from Baltimore the season before, it was not a promising sign for things to come.
Enter Carolina QB Cam Newton.
The former Heisman winner saw a diamond in the rough, and made sure that the Panthers were the destination for the lineman who brought the inspiration for the hit movie “Blindside.”
Here’s what Newton said about chasing down Oher, according to Pro Football Talk:
“With the free agent pool, I’ve sent texts out before, called guys and said, ‘We’d love for you to be part of the team.’ But Mike was different,” Newton said. “I didn’t say, ‘I want you to be here.’ It was, ‘I need you.’ That’s different. Want and need are two different words, and that’s what I used in that text, along with other explicit words before the ‘need.’ And I think he got the feeling from that.
Pro Football Talk attributed Newton’s brother, Cecil, for turning Cam onto the idea of Oher protecting him:
“With my brother playing in Baltimore, I had someone tell me how good he really is. My brother, playing on the offensive line, was around him every day, saw how he brought the professionalism each and every day. That’s something that stuck out to him, and he told me, ‘Mike is someone who will be a key asset to the team,’” Newton said.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
