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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.
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.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said that he and his assistants are the only people on the Bulldogs staff registered with the NCAA as recruiters, but he sidestepped other questions Wednesday about the latest allegation against Newton.
Chizik offered a passionate defense of Newton on Tuesday, calling a report about cheating accusations when Newton was at Florida ''pure garbage.''
Cleveland Browns rookie cornerback Joe Haden said Newton isn't worried about the allegations being leveled against him. Haden lived with Newton for 1 1/2 years and considers his former roommate when the two were at Florida his best friend.
Haden spoke to the Heisman Trophy hopeful on the phone for an hour on Tuesday night. Haden said Newton, who has been accused of cheating while he was with the Gators, ''is not letting this stuff get to him too much. He said, 'Joe, I got a plan and everything is going to work out for the best.'''
Haden believes Newton is only being targeted because he's playing so well this season.
Chizik said focus hasn't been a problem for his team, this season or this week.
''We stay on the track that we've been on and don't deviate off that path,'' Chizik said. ''It's been a great week of practice so far and I don't expect anything different'' Wednesday.
He said ''nothing has changed'' when asked if he was working backup quarterback Barrett Trotter more in practice just in case.
Meanwhile, Georgia coach Mark Richt said Newton's situation could become a distraction for his own team if the Bulldogs started worrying about whether Newton will, or won't, play.
''We really haven't tried to keep up with that at all,'' Richt said Wednesday. ''I think it could be a distraction to us, so we're keeping our blinders on and studying the film and getting a plan and making sure that we're prepared for him being the quarterback. It could be a distraction for us also if we're an 'is he in, is he out' kind of thing. We're planning on him being in and we're preparing that way.''
