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No. 1 JUCO commits to AU

Auburn's outlook for the 2010 season just got brighter.

Five-star quarterback Cameron Newton, Rivals.com's No. 1 junior college recruit, has committed to Auburn and will sign with the Tigers on Thursday.

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"It feels great to get it over with," Newton told AuburnSports.com. "I'm so excited to be going to Auburn."

Newton chose Auburn over his other two finalists, Mississippi State and Oklahoma.

Newton signed with Florida in 2007 out of Westlake High School in Atlanta, Ga., but was dismissed from the team and transferred to Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas. It didn't take long for Newton to adjust. He led Blinn to the junior college national championship in 2009.

Newton, 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, will have two years to play two at Auburn, and will enroll in January in time to go through spring practice. Newton is expected to compete immediately for the starting quarterback spot vacated by departing senior Chris Todd.

Newton was recruited to Auburn by Curtis Luper and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Gus Malzahn. The two coaches were big reasons Auburn was able to land his commitment.

Newton took official visits to Arizona, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Auburn. His visit to Auburn on Dec. 18-20 really opened his eyes to what the Tigers had to offer. It was then that he had an idea Auburn was the place for him, but took time to talk it over with his father before making his decision known.

Newton now is the fifth recruit set to enroll at Auburn in the spring. Two high school standouts, four-star defensive end Craig Sanders of Ariton, Ala. and three-star linebacker Jessel Curry of Buford, Ga., will be in Auburn in January, as will two four-star junior college players, offensive tackle Roszell Gayden and tight end Brandon Mosley.

All five will count back to Auburn's 2009 class, giving the Tigers 22 verbal commitments in the '10 class.

Newton claims a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, a 365-pound bench press, a 455-pound squat, a 4.41-second 20-yard shuttle and a 38-inch vertical leap.

In his only season at Blinn, Newton rushed for 655 yards on 108 carries (6.1 avg.) and 16 touchdowns. He also completed 204-of-336 pass attempts (60.7-percent) with 22 scores and five interceptions.

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