Ex-Westlake footballers’ NFL quests divergent

Days before the NFL draft, Cecil Newton is far removed from the drama that could shape the next chapter of his career. He’s in Brenham, Texas, watching his younger brother, Cameron, play in the Blinn College spring football game.

The former Westlake High players have traveled contrasting paths. It’s now the younger Newton, the one with seemingly more potential and prowess, seeking guidance from his older brother, who transformed an unheralded career into a shot at the NFL.

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Tennessee State

Cecil Newton, a graduate of Westlake High School and Tennessee State, signed as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Cecil, an offensive lineman who began his career at Tennessee State as a walk-on, signed Sunday as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cameron, once a five-star recruit who signed with Florida, is now a junior college quarterback trying to right himself after three felony charges jeopardized his future.

Cecil Newton is the one making sure Cameron doesn’t waste another moment — or his abilities.

“You learn from certain situations,” Cecil, 23, said. “This gives him an opportunity to get his mind together. As his older brother, I do the best I can to set an example.”

Cameron has never had to look far for a role model. Cecil, though not highly touted, always had good feet and ample athleticism for a lineman. Still, college coaches did not call. But they didn’t see what Cameron saw.

“I’ve always idolized my brother,” Cameron said. “Whatever he wants, he’s [going to] go and get it. Day in and day out, he put his best foot forward. He made a way; he found a way to get a scholarship.”

Cameron, 19, never had to work that hard. At 6-foot-6, 234 pounds, he had it all. Size. Skill. Speed. And he knew it. While humility came naturally to Cecil, it was harder for Cameron.

“Cecil’s name wasn’t on the loudspeakers; he wasn’t on magazine covers,” said their father, Cecil Newton, a church pastor.

“Things came so easy for Cameron,” former Westlake coach Dallas Allen said. “Sometimes you have to humble yourself and it will make you a better player.”

Cameron celebrated his brother’s accomplishment. Cecil earned a scholarship after one year at TSU and graduated in December with a degree in economics.

Cameron seemed headed for success when he graduated from high school a semester early and enrolled in January 2007 at Florida, where he competed with Tim Tebow. Cameron played in five games as a freshman and against Hawaii in 2008. An ankle injury, combined with Tebow’s grip on the starting job, kept Newton off the field most of 2008, and he took a medical redshirt.

Then came the arrest in November on burglary, larceny and obstruction of justice charges related to a stolen laptop. When police called to double-check the serial number of a computer in Newton’s room, he threw the laptop out the window.

“I didn’t steal anything. I bought a laptop from someone who was anonymous, and I couldn’t identify the person who sold it to me,” Newton explained. “I was scared, and I panicked. It’s embarrassing when you see your name on the ESPN ticker for the wrong thing.”

Florida coach Urban Meyer suspended Newton indefinitely. He transferred to Blinn and is now in a pre-trial intervention program, he said. He plans to play in the fall and again be recruited.

“I call that my life-changing experience,” he said.