Did Newton's integrity match his talent?

Cam Newton, Auburn's spectacular dual-threat quarterback, easily won the 76th Heisman Trophy last night.

That should come as no surprise.

The NCAA says Newton is eligible for the award. He was the best college football player in the land this season. He had one of the greatest seasons in recent memory. There's no question about that.

But does Newton deserve the Heisman Trophy?

The NCAA and FBI, both investigating Newton's recruitment, are attempting to figure that out. Those findings will determine whether Newton's Heisman will need to be re-evaluated. The same way Reggie Bush's Heisman was re-evaluated when all of the facts in that case were revealed.

It's a simple question of how much Newton knew. Did he know about the pay-for-play plan the NCAA says his father, Cecil Newton, used to secure his commitment to play football?

And did Newton's incredible success on the field come with integrity?

That's the key word in the Heisman mission statement: "The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity."

In this case, integrity means deserving.

If Newton performed all of his incredible feats on the field this season with integrity, then he is a deserving Heisman Trophy winner. If not, then there's a problem.

In fact, the question of integrity is what forced some Heisman voters to boycott Newton and not vote for him.

Cam Newton told ESPN's Chris Fowler in an interview on Thursday, "I'm a person that did nothing wrong."

Later in the interview, the quarterback, who has spoken to NCAA investigators, told Fowler that "the truth will come out."

On Nov. 29, the NCAA released its initial findings in Newton's recruitment case and concluded that a "violation of amateurism rules occurred." The following day, Auburn had to declare Newton ineligible because of the rules violation and then ask for his reinstatement. The NCAA reinstated him "without any conditions" on Dec. 1.

Auburn and the NCAA agreed that Cecil Newton and another individual - the owner of a scouting service - "worked together to actively market the student-athlete as part of a pay-for-play scenario in return for Newton's commitment to attend college and play football."

Did Cam Newton know about the scheme? At this point, the NCAA doesn't believe so.

Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs, said this in the NCAA release: "Based on the information available to the reinstatement staff at this time, we do not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity, which led to his reinstatement."

Cam Newton told Fowler that he chose Auburn over Mississippi State, his final two choices, because Auburn was best for him. When Fowler questioned him about whether the stories were untrue about having conversations with schools making cash payments for his services, he said, "I'm not here to talk about any reports."

The problem is that the NCAA hasn't said whether the case is officially closed. The NCAA did say in its release that reinstatement is likely to conclude "prior to the close of an investigation." There's been no word from the FBI about its investigation.

Until there's closure to this case, the questions about whether Newton deserves the Heisman Trophy will loom.

This summer the NCAA hit USC's football program with major sanctions after it was revealed that Bush and his family received improper benefits. USC soon returned its copy of the Heisman Trophy. Bush forfeited the Heisman and returned his trophy.

It was a huge image hit for the Heisman Trophy. In that case, Bush didn't deserve his Heisman.

Does Newton deserve his?