Last week, Newton was accused of seeking payment through an agent to sign a letter of intent to Mississippi State.

Monday new allegations emerged from FoxSports.com, citing an unnamed source who claimed Newton cheated on three separate occasions while attending the University of Florida.

“As a father figure to this team and these young guys, I’ve got a responsibility to defend and protect,” Chizik said. “I’m standing up here on a very important week trying to defend something that quite frankly is garbage. What matters to me is coming to the defense of not only a great football player, but a great human being who comes from a great family.”

Chizik scolded the media for the way these stories were handled publicly.

“If you really want to do your homework, go and start with his little league coach, then go to his junior high coach, then go to his high school coach, then go to his junior college coach, and then come talk to any coach at Auburn,” Chizik said. “You’re going to hear the same thing. So this is a waste of my time, but I’m going to address it because I’m defending a young man that deserves it.”

Following his opening statement, Chizik refused to answer questions regarding the allegations against Newton.

“We’ve got a very tough game against Georgia this week, and there’s going to be a great crowd here at home,” Chizik said. “The Georgia series is obviously one of the best in college football, and we’ve got our work cut out for us.”