The Carolina Panthers started three days of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and, like all the team's draft picks, George Gring was on the field. George, a 6-year-old boy from Houston, was the Panthers' first pick in the NFL Make-A-Wish Draft.

On Tuesday, he reported to the Panthers' minicamp in Charlotte, N.C., negotiated his contract with Carolina general manager Dave Gettleman, got a briefing from coach Ron Rivera and practiced with his favorite player, quarterback Cam Newton.

"I've cried like three times," George's mother, Katherine Gring, said. "When I got here -- I can't even hold it together. We never expected all of this. Walking up to practice with Cam and seeing them side by side, that was something I will never forget. How amazing is that? That image will never escape me."

In November, doctors diagnosed a lump the size of a grapefruit in George as Burkitt's lymphoma, an intestinal cancer. Five rounds of chemotherapy, two surgeries and 12 spinal taps later, George has gotten the "all clear" from his doctors.

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While he was battling the cancer, George became involved in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that arranges for children with life-threatening illnesses to have their wishes come true. George's wish was to become a Carolina Panther and play with Newton, who won the 2010 Heisman Trophy at Auburn.

Clayton Gring, George's father, said football became a way to turn his son's attention away from the pain of his illness and its treatment.

"Football became a really big distraction for him," Clayton Gring said, "and he would watch football highlights. He latched onto the Panthers, and as he started watching, he gravitated toward Cam Newton. It became a full-on obsession. It was amazing how in-tune he became with the team."

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On Tuesday, Newton was waiting for George with a pair of gold cleats he special-ordered from Under Armour so they'd have matching shoes for practice.

"You know, as a quarterback, we always got to stay swagged up," Newton said to George, whose locker was between those of Newton and his backup, Derek Anderson.

Neither George nor Newton went through the entire practice, but they did stretch, do some passing and catching, stood on the sidelines as their teammates ran through their drills, attended meetings and watched film. Newton is recovering from ankle surgery in March and is pointing toward the start of training camp to be a full participant again. He said having George at practice made the first day of minicamp a lot better, considering their circumstances.

"Anytime you get a chance to give back and make somebody's day, I'm all for it," Newton said. "That's everybody's dream. He lightened my day up. With this being a monotonous process with me coming out and pretty much doing nothing, I was excited today because of my man G-Squared."

Gring's signing bonus was a large jar filled with Kit-Kats and Skittles. Rivera issued No. 2 to Gring because "we've already got a quarterback with No. 1."

At the pre-practice meeting, Rivera's first slide read: "He who is average will be forgotten. But he who impacts the life of a child will have been relevant."

In his post-practice press conference, George said the Panthers "might win the Super Bowl" this season, but he was stumped when asked: Who is your role model? He said he didn't know what a role model was. Newton got the full definition on Tuesday.

"The impact I had puts into perspective how much people really actually watch you," Newton said. "Even though he's hundreds of miles away from where we are on the East Coast, it still makes an impact being in this NFL. It also puts stress on you to let you know you have to be mindful of what you do and what you say as well."

George's day was recorded for ESPN's Make-A-Wish TV series that will air in July.

George's parents are counting down the days - not until the TV program, but until their son has stayed cancer-free for half a year.

"We are three months in right now," Clayton Gring said. "If he can get past six months with no recurrence, we can feel really good that it won't come back."