UGA grad talks about college football's biggest story

Mark Schlabach has covered plenty of big stories in his career as a sports writer, but the one the ESPN.com college football writer has been covering for the last few weeks might turn out to be the biggest.

In fact, the story - concerning allegations of pay-for-play demands by Auburn quarterback Cam Newton's father, Cecil - could eventually be viewed as one of the biggest stories in college football history.

Newton, the Heisman Trophy front-runner, his team are undefeated and ranked second in the BCS standings entering Friday's showdown with defending BCS champ Alabama. Newton has continued to play since Schlabach, Pat Forde and Chris Low first broke the story three weeks ago, but speculation over what the NCAA might eventually decide continues to swirl around the Auburn star.

Many Auburn fans have taken issue with the reporting of the story - there's even video evidence of such on YouTube, as a Tigers fan tries to shout down Schlabach as he reports live from Auburn before a game. Until the NCAA rules on Newton's eligibility, however, the uncertainty will remain.

Schlabach, a Georgia graduate who once wrote for the Banner-Herald before moving on to write for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Washington Post before landing at ESPN, was in Athens on Tuesday night to speak to the Touchdown Club of Athens.

He spoke with Banner-Herald sports editor David Ching before addressing the crowd at the Athens Country Club, discussing the Newton story, the Heisman race and what he expects from Saturday's Georgia-Georgia Tech game. Here's what Schlabach had to say:

Q: I saw the video of you reporting on the scene in Auburn. Had you ever experienced anything like that before?

A: I thought it was gonna be bad. I think it would have been the same in Athens, it would have been the same in Baton Rouge, it would have been the same in Knoxville. I understood why they were upset. It was a dream season and here's some allegations that could derail it.

I think it's why the SEC's the SEC and it's why I love college football, but it was probably the first time I've ever felt uncomfortable doing my job.

But I've always believed if you write a column criticizing somebody or if you write a story like that that's got some pretty serious allegations, you show your face. You don't do like some guys have done and not show your face in the locker room for six months. So I wanted to go over and keep reporting the story. But I was a little surprised. My kids have gotten a kick out of the YouTube video. I didn't realize there was a guy sitting there with a cell phone camera.

Q: Did I hear that you had a police escort?

A: I wouldn't call it a police escort. I had a courtesy escort to my car who pointed me to the right direction to the interstate. But yeah, I had a police escort to my car.

Q: Did you ever feel threatened?

A: No, there was one guy who was yelling pretty loudly. I got a kick out of it more than anything else. I never felt like anybody was gonna hit me or attack me. It just surprised me that grown adults would scream that loudly.

Q: I've heard people describe this as being maybe the biggest story in college football history.

A: In my career covering college football, I think it's potentially the biggest story in college football history, because we don't know the outcome. But when you're talking about the Heisman Trophy race, the SEC championship and the BCS national championship.

Q: And it's happening in-season, unlike Reggie Bush.

A: It could be the biggest story. It's consumed the sport for a month. It's the only thing anybody's talking about and the schedule the last four weeks hasn't been real great to begin with - and this thing, it's the only thing anybody's talking about Monday through Friday.

Q: You mentioned removing yourself from the Heisman voting process this year. Ethically, I guess that's the only thing you can do.

A: Yeah, because if this i

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