Potential No. 1 NFL draft pick admits he idolized Auburn football legend as kid

Anthony Richardson must be reveling in all the comparisons he has received to the greatest legend in the history of Auburn football, Cam Newton, at the 2023 NFL Combine in Indianapolis over the past week.

The reason? Richardson once idolized the former Heisman/national champion quarterback as a kid, giving himself the nickname “Cam” as an ode to the 1x NFL MVP/NFC Championship 33-year-old.

“I started calling myself Cam Jackson in 11th grade,” Richardson said during an appearance on CBS Sports HQ. “Growing up, that guy was always Cam Newton for me. That’s always been the guy I look up to.”

Analyst thinks Anthony Richardson looks better now than Cam Newton did after Auburn football run

Former Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, now an analyst on CBS Sports HQ, shared his belief that Richardson is actually a better pure prospect now than Newton was after the 2010 Auburn football championship season.

“Everybody wants to make the Cam Newton comparison because of the size, the athleticism, how you make plays with your feet,” Spielman said. “But I think he’s a better thrower coming out than Cam Newton was.”

Newton threw for 50 all-purpose touchdowns and seven interceptions to go along with 4,327 all-purpose yards during his lone season on the Plains. Richardson, by contrast, had 26 all-purpose touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 3,203 all-purpose yards in his lone season as the starter for Florida.

Auburn football analyst condemned Anthony Richardson’s Cam Newton comparisons

On3Sports’ Justin Hokanson wanted nothing to do with the comparisons between Richardson and Newton that were being tossed around during the NFL Combine and even before then dating back to the beginning of last season.

What the comparisons do is set Richardson up to be labeled a bust if his talent doesn’t immediately translate to the NFL level. Perhaps for Richardson’s sake, his game should speak for itself.