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Things are already starting to get personal between former Auburn great Cam Newton, and the closest thing to an heir apparent the school has had since Newton's time with the Tigers, new five-star QB recruit Deuce Knight.
The beef seems to have started after Deuce Knight excitedly announced his signing with AU a couple weeks ago with the X/Twitter declaration, “WDE it’s time to turn this program around!! We bringing the 2010-2011 vibes back to the plains.”
Five-Star QB Deuce Knight has signed with Auburn!
“WDE it’s time to turn this program around!! We bringing the 2010-2011 vibes back to the plains🦅”https://t.co/EQRBDpZRAi pic.twitter.com/wpkqjUcQQ3
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 4, 2024
The 2010-2011 season was of course Cam Newton's lone, and historic, year with Auburn, where he led the football team to the national championship and himself to the Heisman Trophy and top overall pick in the NFL draft.
So why did the F-bombs start flying?
Newton, still a huge Auburn fan, took umbrage not with Deuce Knight's desire to bring his alma mater another championship, but with what happened next — Deuce Knight making clear his desire to don the same jersey number — #2 — that Newton wore during his season with Auburn.
Knight later appeared in photo shoots posted to Auburn's social media in which he shows off the #2 on the front of his jersey, and that's when Cam Newton decided to weigh in.
Newton didn't mince words when he took to his podcast 4th and 1 to proclaim, “It's a f— no for me,” regarding the potential of Deuce Knight wearing his number.
“I like Deuce,” Newton continued. “Played against him – he was on Deestroying's 7-on-7 team when I did get the chance to see him and meet him,” he added, referring to a popular YouTuber's 7-on-7 league.
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“But in this day and age, bro, everything's earned. You've got to earn the right,” Newton argued. “And what you did in high school, nobody gives a f— in college.”
And the expletives weren't done there. Despite the fact that no quarterback has worn Newton's #2 jersey since he left the school, the number isn't officially retired in any way, but Newton still feels there's an unspoken rule — and he continued to hammer home that point for Deuce Knight.
“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,” Newton insisted. “But as an avid, die-hard Auburn fan, it's easier said than done, bro. Like, win the locker room first.”
Newton's speech then built to a crescendo. “F— numbers. F—, like, entitlement, F— NIL. F— all that shit. Bro, win a game.”
And just to hammer home the point that it wasn't something against Deuce Knight personally — but rather, against any- and everyone else trying to wear Newton's number — Cam pointed out that he wouldn't even let his own son Chosen wear #2 in his first Auburn season if and when he attends the school one day.
“You see what I'm saying?” Newton asked rhetorically. “It's like, son, create your own legacy. I did.”
What Cam Newton neglects to point out in this debate is that Deuce Knight's very name — Deuce! — is often a term used to describe the number two. Sure, Knight could have avoided talk of bringing back “vibes” of Cam Newton's team, and maybe it's Auburn who put him in the #2 jersey for the photo shoot, but if your name is Deuce Knight it's understandable you'd have an affinity for the number two!
Maybe Newton is just trying to light a fire under the new recruit in hopes of motivating him to live up to expectations. Or maybe Cam's still a bit egotistical and isn't keen on sharing the Auburn spotlight just yet. Whatever the reason, Cam Newton has made clear how he feels about Deuce Knight donning his #2 jersey at Auburn and — long story short — it stinks.
