SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and All-American Nick Fairley are the two best players on No. 1 Auburn and they both came to the Tigers from junior colleges.
It’s a path plenty of players take to major college football, though it’s certainly not one they would choose.
They go that route because they have no choice. In most cases, they end up in small towns such as Wesson, Miss., or El Dorado, Kan., because they didn’t make the grades out of high school to qualify to play at a four-year school. That’s why Fairley ended up at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi.
In some cases, like Newton’s, they land at a JUCO because things didn’t work out for them at a big school. Newton was once a backup QB at Florida.
Some say JUCOs give players another chance. Auburn assistant coach Trooper Taylor calls it a last chance.
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