CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Practice was over. The Miami Hurricanes gathered at center court to hear a few words from coach Mario Cristobal, who summarized his thoughts on practice and talked about what would happen next.
Then everyone went their own way. Except for the offensive.
Cam Ward had a few words for this group. They were not happy words. There were things about training that the new quarterback of Miami – and Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in the previous season — did not like, things he found unacceptable, things that in his opinion did not meet the standard, Hurricanes in 19th place for himself. So he let his teammates know. They all nodded. They knew he was right.
Cristobal, watching from a few feet away, was thrilled with what he saw and heard. Ward – a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate who came out of Washington State after flirting with the NFL last spring – has gone 0-0 as Miami’s quarterback, with zero yards and zero touchdowns. Has yet to play a game as a Hurricane. But it is already his team.
“He does it by being himself, by working and by being a good person,” Cristobal said. “Those things keep coming back to being unbeatable, right? He puts in the time, he’s super knowledgeable, has a super high IQ. He’s an absolute alpha. When he’s wrong, he takes it lightly, as he should. And if someone else doesn’t meet or maintain the standard, he’ll give them a piece of his mind. He’ll teach, but he’ll also be very demanding.”
Ward’s numbers are exceptional. Last season he threw for 311 yards per game, and in his four college seasons — two at FCS member Incarnate Word, the next two at Washington State — he has amassed 13,876 yards and 119 touchdowns. The only quarterback in college football to enter this season with more career yards at any level is Dillon Gabriel, who transferred from Oregon and has 14,865 yards.
And if the Hurricanes want to be successful this season, Ward will be one of the main reasons for this.
“I have a good relationship with a lot of the guys on the team, pretty much everyone on the team,” Ward said. “I feel like I can talk to them a certain way, the right way. I know how to reach the guys. I know how to get things across to them. And when you have bad days, you have to go after the guys more than you do on good days.”
“I don’t expect more from myself than anyone else,” he added. “I know where I came from. I know what I had to do to get to this position. I never want to go back there. That’s why this is so important to me and my guys.”
The sentence “Where I come from” is his fuel, his oxygen, his motivation.
West Columbia, Texas, population 3,700, loves football. Ward was a star there, although no one who looks at the numbers knows that. As a junior, he threw for 1,070 yards. As a senior, he averaged 12 passes per game. Columbia High was a running team. Ward’s arm may have been blessed with power and accuracy, but the game plan wasn’t geared toward that. He wasn’t a five-star recruit. Or a four-star recruit. Or even a one-star recruit.
Zero stars. Hardly any prospect, the experts thought. And the experts were wrong.
“I don’t get too worked up or too down, even on the football field,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, the only thing that keeps me and my family alive is playing on the football field. I and my family don’t really care what other people think of me. At this point, at this time in my life, I’m more focused on winning football games with the team around me.”
That’s how different it is: Some people come to Miami for the lifestyle, the sun and sand, the glitz.
Ward came to fish. Really.
His ideal day is a combination of working out, studying film, relaxing at home with his dog, dolphin fishing and eating dinner with his offensive line. When people say they have a good fishing spot or a good restaurant he should try, he’ll talk as long as they want. When asked about the Heisman race, he doesn’t have much to say. It’s not his priority.
“The biggest thing for me is there was still food left on the table for me,” Ward said. “I’ve accomplished a lot at the FCS level. I haven’t accomplished anything at the FBS level that I know I can do. I feel like the NFL isn’t going anywhere. God put me in this position to be a Miami Hurricane. I think it’s the best of both worlds.”
And Cristobal couldn’t be happier with how it’s all starting. The Hurricanes have a chance to be good in 2024, and they have someone who has taken over – in a short amount of time – the leadership role.
“You can’t have as much of an impact on the whole building as he does if you’re not like him. Genuine. Real. Tough,” Cristobal said. “And he plays quarterback like a linebacker. That’s the key.”
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