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E ver since his controversial national championship season at Auburn, people have had all sorts of debates about Cam Newton. Some fair, some not.

One thing that’s not debatable — the Panthers’ quarterback is great around kids.

But why?

Newton could latch onto any number of charitable endeavors, and he could do it just to do it. But he appears to genuinely enjoy himself when he’s around kids.

In the last week and a half, Newton made a new friend at minicamp, surprised North Carolina youth football teams, and played coach in Florida. Thursday he kicked off his foundation’s two-day 7-on-7 tournament in Charlotte.

And while Newton would likely admit he’s often just a big kid, one reason he does so much with the younger generation goes back to his days growing up in Atlanta.

“There were so many popular figures who came from the streets I was brought up in, that were raised in the same ‘hood that I was brought up in. The thing that was hard to imagine or fathom was no one ever came back,” Newton said Thursday, during a break in the tournament. “For somebody to have come back, it would have meant the world to me just to see them, just to touch them, just to be in their presence.”

But Newton wasn’t the only star in the presence of the 24 participating high school teams. Future Hall of Famer Randy Moss seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

“It shocked me to death to see Randy out here. It means a lot to me,” Newton said.

Moss made the surprise appearance with his son, Thaddeus. After attending high schools in Kentucky, West Virginia and Rhode Island the last two years, the tight end and defensive end will play his junior season at Victory Christian, where former Panthers’ running back Dee Brown is the head coach.

Two weeks ago, Panthers’ first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin revealed that his favorite receiver growing up was Moss. Benjamin then told a story about meeting his idol during a 7-on-7 tournament.

Perhaps there was a future Benjamin on the field Thursday. And one day, he’ll share a story about the time he met one of the NFL’s all-time best receivers, or the quarterback who’s never forgotten to go back.

“As a kid when you see a social figure that you can actually talk to, put yourself in his shoes. Even the most simplistic things go a long way,” Newton said. “That’s what it’s all about. Empowering our youth to make a difference.”

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BBR NUGGETS

• Thomas Davis, #TBT. — Instagram
• Posted last summer, but had it sent to us this week: Luke Kuechly has hops. — YouTube 
• Colin Cole camp. — Twitter
• New fan on the way. — Reddit
• Last call for the Panthers’ Road Show headed to Columbia, S.C. — Panthers.com

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