Cecil Newton, his son Cam riding shotgun, had driven deep into the Texas countryside, through the farms and fields, searching for the future.

This was January of 2009 and a long, long way from the family home back in Atlanta, let alone the University of Florida where Cam had planned to become a star. The NFL, where on Feb. 7 Cam will lead the Carolina Panthers into Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos, was a distant concept.

View photos Cam Newton in his Blinn College days. (Rivals.com) More

This was Blinn College, this was little Brenham, this was a blip in his son's success story, or at least that's what the father hoped. Those five stars Rivals.com bestowed on Cam didn't mean anything now. Just a month prior, suspicion of academic fraud and an arrest for possession of a stolen laptop ended his time with the national champion Gators.

The easy way was gone, done in by immaturity and stupidity. The only way now was for Cam Newton to grow up and get it together, here in football's badlands, home to desolation and desperation.

Cam freely admits he arrived at Blinn depressed at the prospect.

"My dad said, 'Cam, you can make this situation a dream or you can make this situation a nightmare,'" Cam told Yahoo Sports back in 2011, of the conversation they had as they pulled up to Blinn, the small junior college where he was enrolling.

"That struck a fire under me," Cam Newton said. "That was my drive."

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Blinn coach Brad Franchione was waiting on his new quarterback that day. He received a call a couple weeks prior asking if he'd be interested in a troubled transfer from the SEC. He then spent time researching the player, the person, the situation. It included lengthy talks with Cecil and Cam.

Junior colleges are designed to dole out second chances and athletes such as Cam Newton tend to get them quickly. A pretrial intervention program for first-time offenders ended his legal problems and the academic charges were moot once he left Florida, so he was technically in the clear. Still, no one wants to take on undue risks. Was this just one laptop, one mistake or a pattern? Was this a kid looking for a change or just a new address?

There were football questions too. For all of the Newton's physical promise, his two seasons in Gainesville produced nothing more than being Tim Tebow's backup. How could someone with his capabilities fail to get on the field, throwing just 12, mop-up duty passes? Tebow was undeniably a great college player, but as time has proven, Newton possessed vastly superior skills and upside. Why wasn't this guy approaching that potential?

What struck Franchione, the son of former Texas A&M and Alabama head coach Dennis Franchione, was how open the Newtons were. Cecil was a preacher by trade and didn't sugarcoat the sins of his son.

"They were very forthcoming about everything," Franchione said. That included Cecil making a few "demands" of his own, namely for the coach to ride his son as hard as necessary, with a special focus on building leadership qualities, not merely showcasing Cam's considerable on-field abilities.

It was not just a chance to get back, the Newtons said. It was a chance to get forward.

"It was very important to both Cecil and Cam," Franchione said. "They were eager for Cam to become a better leader. I promised to do that. Cam and I had a lot of conversations about what it means to be a leader, how your actions are perceived by your teammates, how you connect with people. Leadership is what wins off the field."

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