Auburn‘s newest starting quarterback had quite a lot of people in his voicemail box and DMs after leading the charge behind Auburn’s come-behind win over Georgia State in September.
The most surprising? A call from the Auburn legend Cam Newton himself.
T.J. Finley said he got a call from a random Atlanta number and picked it up. None other on the line was the former NFL MVP and one of Auburn’s most beloved players and community members in its history, Newton.
"He's one of the most inspirational people in my life," Finley said.
It wasn’t the first time Finley talked to the national championship winner. The former LSU starter had met him when he was still playing high school 7-on-7s. Newton has led teams and camps in multiple different states including Atlanta and South Carolina, his most notable being C1N.
A week before Newton was signed back to his first NFL team that he reached a Super Bowl with, the Carolina Panthers, he and Finley shared a devotion.
“Right before he got signed...he called me and we went through a devotional together, and it was a lot of stuff we talked about,” Finley said. "I’m lowkey getting emotional about it because the things we talked about came to fruition. He’s one of the most inspirational people in my life, I've looked up to him since I was a little kid."
Finley said he treated him like a brother. He added that he prays that he’ll continue to be able to have that relationship with the known mentor Newton.
Auburn will have a new quarterback under center for the first time since 2018 when Finley takes the field against South Carolina on Saturday. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on ESPN.
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Larry is a senior studying journalism with a minor in sociology. He is from Enterprise, Alabama and is in his third year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @ReportingLarry
