Auburn football: Cam Newton helps TJ Finley prepare for starting role

Auburn football lost a lot last weekend–starting quarterback, starting placekicker, and the whole entire game to Mississippi State–but with two games left on the regular-season schedule it’s still full steam ahead for the Tigers.

For the second year in a row, TJ Finley will get his first start against the South Carolina Gamecocks, though he’ll be wearing orange and blue instead of purple and gold this year. While Finley has served as Bo Nix’s backup for most of this season, the LSU transfer has been preparing for this moment to come.

But Finley has not been alone in his preparation. One of the people building up the young quarterback is former Auburn football National Champion and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. OA News reports that Newton called Finley after his Auburn debut against Georgia State and then again shortly before signing his new contract with the Carolina Panthers.

"“He’s one of the most inspirational people in my life,” Finley said Wednesday. “I’ve looked up to him since I was a little kid. To say that he’s reaching out to me as a little brother and helping me throughout my path of college football, it means a lot to me.”"

While Finley did not get into the specifics of his conversation with the NFL QB, he supposed that Newton got his number from his younger brother, WR Caylin Newton, and shared that the pair did a devotional together:

"“I don’t want to say the things that he told me, but, it was a lot of stuff talked about — I’m lowkey getting emotional about it right now because the things we talked about came to fruition,” Finley said."

Though Bo Nix and TJ Finley competed all summer for QB1, the two athletes have maintained a close bond and are rooting for each other to succeed. Finley will have his first chance to lead the Auburn offense this Saturday from Columbia, South Carolina.