College football: 25 biggest what-ifs of the 2010s

College football: 2010s biggest what-ifs: 3. Cam Newton was on the verge of becoming ineligible

The end result is what most focus on. For Cam Newton, his 2010 season in Auburn was about as perfect as you could get. He was widely viewed as the best player in all of college football after taking home the Heisman Trophy and leading Auburn to the BCS title.

But while the accolades were outstanding, Newton was on the verge of not being allowed to play at all that season.

After dominating at Blinn Junior college, Newton attempted to make his way back to a division one school. While the number of suitors wrapped around several blocks, Newton ultimately decided to play at Auburn. However, reports began surfacing that Newton chose Auburn due to his father accepting financial benefits.

Cecil Newton was believed to have said that in order to get his son to play for Mississippi State, one of the school’s high on Cam Newton’s list, was if they were willing to fork over somewhere in the realm of $100,000-$180,000.

After a lengthy investigation during the back half of his season, both Newton and Auburn were granted a reprieve of any wrongdoing. The rest is history as Newton went on to break records that season and become the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Newton’s historic season, however, was on the verge of vanishing into thin air.