The first time many casual NFL fans heard Josh Norman's name, it came after a tussle with one of the most famous players in the sport.

Norman was the guy who had the temerity to get into it with Cam Newton in training camp. The cornerback who walked on at Coastal Carolina went toe-to-toe with the former No. 1 overall pick.

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"I'm not going to let this guy do this on me," Norman explained to Yahoo Sports, when asked what happened that August day. "I got fed up. Enough is enough. I was locked in. I undercut [his throw] and ran it back. I stiffed-armed him, trying to stop him. I didn't want him to tackle me. We had a conversation. Just like men."

But … it was Cam Newton, the franchise.

"If my grandma and I were playing basketball," Norman concludes, "she would not be winning. I would take her to the hole."

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Norman has always had a way of announcing himself, of taking the stage. The athletic director at Coastal, Matt Hogue, remembers that Norman made three interceptions in one game and when he caught the third, he held up three fingers on the way to the turf. He had the move planned, just like earlier this season when he checked with a league representative about his end zone celebration against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers even before the game began. He picked off Jameis Winston early in the first quarter, returned it for a score, and did what he said he would. That play, which came early in the Panthers' so-far undefeated season, has been a highlight in a breakout year for Norman. He is a candidate for defensive player of the year, with four interceptions, two forced fumbles and two touchdowns. Newton's dominance and dabbing have defined the season, but Norman has kept announcing himself to old fans and new.

View photos Josh Norman paid a visit to his alma mater and his communications professor Linda Kuykendall. (Special to Y Sports) More

Even his communications professor at Coastal has a Josh Norman story. It happened last year, during a bye week.

"I go in to the lecture hall, get the computer going," says Linda Kuykendall. "Call the roll. I start lecturing. When I lecture, I walk. And I am thinking, 'Who is that person?' Finally I walk up to this young person, and I say, 'Are you sure you're in the right class?'"

"He jumps up and says, 'It's me!' And it's Josh."

She wasn't all that surprised. "He has that drama about him to begin with," Kuykendall says. "That's part of him."

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