Cam Newton has led Auburn to the brink of a U.S. national championship. (Dave Martin/Associated Press)Auburn's Cam Newton took the Heisman Trophy as the year's top U.S. college football player on Saturday in New York, a result widely expected despite some controversy surrounding the quarterback's past.
The other finalists for the 76th edition of the trophy's unveiling were, in order of finish, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Oregon running back LaMichael James and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore.
Newton received 729 first-place votes and beat Luck by 1,184 points.
"Honestly, it's a dream come true for me, something every child has a dream that plays the sport of football, and I'm living testimony that anything is possible," Newton said.
Newton led the Tigers to a 13-0 record and the Southeastern Conference title. The top-ranked team, they will play No. 2 Oregon to determine the national champion on Jan. 10 in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.
The six-foot-six junior joins running back Bo Jackson (1985) and quarterback Pat Sullivan (1971) as the school's only Heisman Trophy winners.
Newton's chances of winning the Heisman became muddied in the wake of a controversy surrounding the circumstances following his decision to return to NCAA football a year spent playing in junior college.
The week before the Southeastern Conference championship, the NCAA announced that Cecil Newton, the athlete's father, tried to pull off a play-for-pay scheme with Mississippi State, but there was no evidence that his son or Auburn knew about it.
The NCAA decided Cam Newton would be allowed to play, but his father's access to Auburn athletics would be limited. The sports governing body has left open the possibility that the player's status could change if new evidence came to light.
New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush earlier this year forfeited the Heisman he won in 2005. Bush's decision came shortly before he was expected to be officially stripped of the honour after it was found he and some family members received cash and other gifts while he starred for the University of Southern California.
Newton earlier encountered trouble in his collegiate career while a member of the Florida Gators, when he was found to be in possession of a stolen laptop. The incident, as well as the likelihood of backing up Tim Tebow for yet another year, led to Newton leaving Florida in late 2008.
He landed at Blinn College in Texas, leading the school to the junior college national championship in 2009.
Luck's second-place finish marks the first time two different players from the same team were runners-up in consecutive seasons. Former Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart finished second to Alabama's Mark Ingram last year.
With files from The Associated Press
