Newton

AUBURN, Ala. All Auburn coach Gene Chizik would say Wednesday about Cam Newton is that the star quarterback will start for the second-ranked Tigers against Georgia on Saturday after the latest round of accusations. Newton’s friend Joe Haden and brother, meanwhile, rose to his defense.

Chizik declined to answer questions about an ESPN report that Newton told a Mississippi State recruiter that his father wanted him to go to Auburn because “the money was too much.”

Citing unidentified sources, ESPN reported late Tuesday that Newton and his father, Cecil, each had a phone conversation with a Mississippi State recruiter and acknowledged a pay-for-play arrangement. According to the report, one of the recruiters said Cecil Newton told him it would take “more than a scholarship” for his son to attend Mississippi State.

Chizik offered a passionate defense of Newton on Tuesday, calling an earlier report about academic cheating accusations when Newton was at Florida “pure garbage.” But he would only field questions related to Saturday’s game with Georgia after Wednesday’s practice.

“I know you guys have a job to do and I respect that, but my job right now is Georgia this weekend,” Chizik told reporters. “I’ll entertain questions that have to do with that, because that’s where my focus is.”

Newton’s older brother, Cecil Jr., posted on Facebook that the accusations are false and “a tool for haters.”

“With all of the negative publicity and false accusations facing cam, it’s nothing more than a tool for haters to use against cam to keep him from being successful,” wrote Cecil Jr.