NEW YORK — Cam Newton and the other finalists for the Heisman Trophy strolled into the room together, posed for photos with the big bronze statue, then spread out to separate tables to speak with reporters.
Andrew Luck, LaMichael James and Kellen Moore looked a little lonely.
The Auburn quarterback certainly draws a crowd these days.
Newton sat back in a leather desk chair, frequently flashed a big grin and casually answered questions from about a dozen reporters for 14 minutes Friday, the day before he’s expected to win the Heisman.
Newton said he was not disappointed in his father, even though the NCAA believes Cecil Newton tried to get Mississippi State to pay him in exchange for his son playing there. The star QB was disappointed that his father decided not to attend tonight’s Heisman ceremony.
“It hurts, but that’s a decision that he made,” Cam Newton said.
Newton said his mother Jackie and two brothers will be at the ceremony, and he plans to speak with his father by phone soon after it is over.
“I said on numerous occasions how I feel about my father,” Newton said. “I love him with all my heart.”
James has said he’d vote for Newton to win the award, and Moore, the Boise State quarterback, said the same Friday.
“I don’t expect to win, no,” he said. “Certainly, Cam is deserving of this.”
Chris Huston, who polls a sampling of Heisman voters throughout the season and posts the results at , predicts a landslide victory for Newton, though the scandal probably will keep him from breaking any records.
O.J. Simpson of Southern California has the record for largest margin of victory in the Heisman voting. He beat Purdue’s Leroy Keyes by 1,750 points in 1968.
Newton said winning the award would “be a dream come true.”
“Will I cry?” he said. “I don’t know. You’ll have to see (tonight).”
