No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton can’t work with the Panthers right now. Instead, he’s getting tutored by a former Panthers quarterback who had his fair share of college success.
Chris Weinke is working with Newton for 1-2 hours a day at the IMG Institute in Bradenton, Florida, helping to “refine” Newton’s game.
Newton was in New Orleans Friday to accept the Manning Award given annually to the nation’s top college quarterback. (Why are they still giving awards for a season that ended four months ago?)
While there, Newton talked about his workout schedule. He says he’s sometimes at the IMG facility from 7 a.m. to 7 at night, with much of the work on conditioning.
Panthers fans would probably handpick a different quarterback coach for Newton than Weinke (Steve Beurlein?), but we’ll try to refrain from any wisecracks. Or references to Weinke’s rough 1-15 rookie year.
Most quarterback coaches and gurus have accomplished less on the field than Weinke, and it didn’t hurt their ability to teach.
If anything, Panthers fans should be encouraged Newton appears to be doing everything he can to be ready for the season.