INDIANAPOLIS – Widely regarded as the top two quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft, Auburn’s Cam Newton and Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert are taking two distinctly different approaches to preparing for the annual selection day.
Whereas the more reserved Gabbert is taking his time and working in a business like fashion, Newton has been extremely transparent and open about his method.
Not that either tactic is right or wrong but it’s clear that those paths are as different as Newton and Gabbert themselves. Not that either one of them is in a hurry to make it a me vs. him proposition.
“I'm just going to continuously work on my craft throughout the day to make me a better person,” Newton said Saturday. “I'm not really focused on comparing myself to this person or comparing myself to that person. I'm just going to continue to focus on Cam Newton to make him the best person that he can be.”
Gabbert also remains unconcerned with any comparisons.
“I think that's what you guys are making it out to be, kind of me vs. Cam," Gabbert said. “But it's just an opportunity for us to get drafted as high as possible. I know Cam, Ryan (Mallet), and Jake (Locker) are all working to be the No. 1 guy. And it's going to be a fun next few months.”
Depending on whom you ask, both Gabbert and Newton sit atop the quarterback rankings of all of the draft analysts, pundits and wanna be analysts and pundits.
Both have the combination of size, athleticism and passing ability to be top 10 picks and even potentially be the No. 1 overall selection in April.
Gabbert, who grew up in St. Louis and played for Parkway West High, emerged almost out of nowhere after two solid seasons with the Tigers.
Going into the 2010 year, not many expected Gabbert to be a candidate for early entry into the draft but he put it out there as an objective for himself.
“Going into last season, I definitely had goals to reach," Gabbert said. “And one of those was having the opportunity to enter the NFL draft. Throughout the season, I never focused on that one bit. I was more worried about winning football games for my Missouri team.”
Since declaring for the draft, Gabbert’s stock has taken a meteoric rise. After Stanford’s Andrew Luck decided to stay in school, Gabbert emerged as the top quarterback prospect in the draft.
Soon after, Gabbert signed with CAA and Tom Condon, an agent known for handling his quarterbacks flawlessly and bolstering their stock. In recent years, Condon has advised the likes of Josh Freeman, 
More often than not, he’s advised those signal callers to work out at Athletes Performance Institute in Phoenix and not to throw in front of scouts until their college campus pro days.
Gabbert will follow that advice this year and is the only one of the quarterbacks here not to throw when his group goes through the paces Sunday. He will wait to throw at Mizzou’s pro day on March 17.
“I trust him with his advice,” Gabbert said. “It's been successful in the past. Of course, Sam (Bradford) had his injury, so he was only going to throw at his pro day. But Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, these guys (chose) only to throw at their pro day, and they've been extremely successful in doing that.”
Newton, on the other hand, has taken a far different approach. The uber confident Newton is coming off a junior season in which he carried Auburn to a national title and won the Heisman Trophy in the process.
In an interview last week, Newton referred to himself as someone who wants to be an “entertainer” and an “icon” and not just a football player.
Despite his confidence bordering on arrogance, Newton has done the things necessary to back up his words.
And, unlike Gabbert, Newton is taking the opportunity to participate in as many workouts as possible. He will throw here on Monday and again at Auburn’s pro day on March 8.
“I'm a competitor,” Newton said. “That's what I do. For anybody to know me, they know I like to compete. That's why I'm going to participate in all the activities tomorrow.”
SHURMUR SETTLES IN: Since departing his post as Rams offensive coordinator and taking the head coaching job in Cleveland, Pat Shurmur has been extremely busy in putting together a staff and getting accustomed to his new surroundings.
On Saturday, Shurmur took the opportunity to speak with the assembled media and discuss his time in St. Louis and how he’s adjusting to his new gig.
After just two years as offensive coordinator, the Browns hired Shurmur in January.
“I always had hoped that I'd have an opportunity to do this,” Shurmur said. “I'd been given good advice all along to do just keep doing your job and when the time is right somebody will call. To be in this situation with these people, with coach (Mike) Holmgren as the president and Tom Heckert and all the great the pieces in place, I'm just honored to be here. And I feel good about the training that I received, my 10 years in Philadelphia. I worked for Nick Saban, and first George Perles, who I played for and had such great success in the NFL. To basically kind of pull it all together our two years in St. Louis, I feel I guess as prepared as you can be for this challenge. I've enjoyed it. I made the comment last night that all the hours really don't mean much because as coaches we're making a living in a profession that's primarily our hobby. So nothing has changed there.”
Shurmur was instrumental in the development of Rams quarterback Sam Bradford last year and says he’s kept in close contact with Bradford since departing.
“Actually, I have texted back and forth with Sam,” Shurmur said. “And one thing I know about Sam, he's the right fit for the St. Louis Rams. I'm looking forward to following his progress because we did get so close. But, yeah, there's been some correspondence. Just like anything, when you develop a strong relationship with somebody, you wish them well in everything they do. They're on the right track with the leadership that Billy Devaney and Kevin and obviously the coaching of Steve Spagnuolo that organization is on the track to doing great things.”
Shurmur could get an up close look at those things next year as the Browns are scheduled to host the Rams in the 2011 season.
“I'm well aware we play the Rams,” Shurmur said. “I'm looking forward to it. When you play the game, until the game starts, it's fun to see the people that you were close to.”
LIKE JACK: Despite the proliferation of diminutive running backs in attendance at his week’s NFL Scouting Combine, there’s at least one back with the combination of size and ability to become the type of bellcow running back that fans in St. Louis can recognize.
Illinois running back Mikel LeShoure is around 6 feet and has the type of size and skill that makes him the next in an ever-developing string of talented backs to come from Champaign.
LeShoure had a monster junior season and became the Illini’s single season rushing leader, including a massive 330 yard performance against Northwestern.
So it was only appropriate that when asked who he patterns his game after, he dropped a familiar name.
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