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INDIANAPOLIS – So many eyes have been on trained on Cam Ward lately – those of NFL coaches, scouts, executives, fans and even his peers at the scouting combine this week.
But nobody was watching more closely Friday than Ward’s parents.
Most recently an All-American quarterback for the University of Miami (Fla.), Ward answered questions from a crush of media members surrounding his podium from all sides like a relentless pass rush. Off to one side, his mother, Patrice, and father, Calvin, paid rapt attention to their son’s answers.
And then the inevitable query came, the one wondering whether Ward was getting any blowback from NFL teams for sitting out the second half of last season’s Pop-Tarts Bowl after he’d just set a new Division I record for career touchdown passes (158) prior to halftime. (Miami eventually lost the game to Iowa State after coughing up the lead in the second half but, per a CBS report, never planned to play Ward beyond the second quarter.)
“No discussion at all,” Ward said of the controversy. “At the end of the day, it’s March. Bowl game’s in December. At some point, you’ve got to move on. I’ve never lived my life in the past, I don’t who would want to live their life in the past.
“I’ll take it on the chin, you know, I’ll just keep pushing every day.”
That direct answer issued, Patrice Ward then turned to her husband and broke into a huge smile.
It was the best part of a news conference that Ward, who might be the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft, essentially seemed to ace and should only further boost his stock for the quarterback-needy clubs atop the board.
“I’m willing to do anything, you know, that it takes to win a football game, whether it’s being a gunslinger all day or if I have to hand the ball off a couple times,” said Ward.
“At the end of the day, I know what type of player I am, (and) the teams should know what type of player they’re getting in me. And so, you know, I’m just going out there and trying to do my best for myself and my future teammates.”
Ward’s previous teammates – and there have been quite a few – seem to swear by him.
“Playing with Cam Ward was great. He came into the program, he changed it all, we all learned from him, and we just became one once he got into the facility,” Hurricanes receiver Jacolby George told USA TODAY Sports.
“His personality was a big part of how we played our season and how we did so good. I feel like he’s the reason why we had that winning season, and he’s the reason we stuck together.”
Said Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo of his former quarterback: “He’s the ultimate guy, ultimate teammate. Everybody sees what he does on the field and his confidence and everything. But the biggest thing I’d say is just the type of leader he is. From Day 1, he brought the team together.
“He’s not afraid to hold people accountable. He wants to win, and he holds the team to a certain standard.”
Miami went 10-3 in 2024, Ward’s only season in Coral Gables, after he transferred in following two seasons at Washington State. Prior to that, his college career began inauspiciously in San Antonio at the University of the Incarnate Word, an FCS program – and the only school to offer him a scholarship after a high school career spent playing in a Wing-T offense.
“At the end of the day, you never know where football will take you,” said Ward.
Soon, it’s likely to take him to a struggling NFL operation. Ward has already met with the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets – all teams slotted among the draft’s top seven picks and all in need of a franchise quarterback. He was clearly very familiar with all of those squads’ circumstances yet focused on the positive aspects of landing with any of them.
“It’s crazy to see how everything can change, so I’m not worried about no spotlight,” said Ward, who also played very well at Wazzu before the Pac-12 splintered.
“At the end of the day, the camera’s gonna find you if you’re a franchise quarterback somewhere. So I just put my head down and work every day.”
And the work paid off in college. Ward led the country with 39 touchdown passes in 2024 on his way to being named the ACC’s Player of the Year and winning the Davey O’Brien Award as college football’s best quarterback.
In addition to an alpha persona, he’s got a high-velocity, accurate arm and can make plenty of plays with his legs when required – though Ward says his best on-field trait is “winning from the pocket.”
“If you can’t win in the pocket,” he said, “you’ll never be successful.”
That seemed to be part of a pattern. Ward, who won’t work out during the combine’s quarterback drills Saturday, was quick to cite his intangibles as strengths – mindset, preparation, approach, work ethic, maximization of opportunities – rather than his estimable physical ability.
And he oozed confidence and maturity amid a no-frills demeanor, parrying criticism with thoughtful answers. After being asked about the Pop-Tarts Bowl, he engaged with the notion that he holds onto the ball too long at times.
“If you have time in the pocket, why would you not hold the ball and let your receivers get open?” Ward retorted – while crediting the ‘Canes line for giving him the luxury to extend plays.
“If you’re able to make plays out of structure, of course you’re going to hold the ball and try to make a play to get your receivers open.”
Yet it is Ward’s leadership that seems likely to serve him best as he moves forward into what’s likely to be – at least initially – a challenging situation. And he already seems to have a pretty good idea how to initially engage with established professionals who may not be readily inclined to listen to a 22-year-old.
“Just holding people accountable,” Ward said of his approach. “I’m not no rah-rah guy. At this point in your career in the NFL, you shouldn’t need somebody to motivate you every day, you have to be self-motivated. That’s the type of person I am, that’s the type of leader I am.
“Throughout college, I’ve grown to be more vocal. But at the end of the day, it’s all about leading by example,” he continued. “The quarterback will always be the highest-paid player on the team, and he has to showcase that skill every Sunday and every day throughout the facility to his teammates. I just think I’ll be one of those guys in the long run, and I’m looking forward to it.”
And, just maybe, Ward will make the fans and teammates at his next destination just as proud as his parents.
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