Nick Saban stated he liked that Miami quarterback Cam Ward came up the hard way and that he didn't have five-star syndrome during coverage of the NFL Draft on ESPN College Gameday on Thursday night. The journey for Ward from high school has been well documented.
MaxPreps lists Ward as throwing for 2,261 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions from 2017 through 2019 at (West) Columbia High School in Texas. Playing in a Wing-T in high school, Ward also ran for 331 yards and 11 touchdowns. Ward was unranked as a high school prospect and signed with FCS Incarnate Word.
Ward won the Jerry Rice Award as the outstanding freshman in FCS in the spring of 2021 after the season was shifted from fall 2020. During his final season at Incarnate Word, Ward was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the FCS Player of the Year during the fall 2021 season.
Saban and the ESPN College GameDay cast were in Berkeley, California, last October ahead of the Miami game against California. Miami rallied from a 35-10 deficit to win 39-38 when Ward threw a touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo in the final minute to put the Hurricanes in front.
"I also like Cam Ward because he came up the hard way. You know he doesn't have five-star syndrome, like a lot of these guys, they were stars in high school. They got recruited in high school. If I was a coach right now, I would be on somebody's rear who recruited that area and didn't' see this guy. Now, I know he played in the wing-T offense...in high school, which doesn't feature the quarterback."Nick Saban
After two seasons at Incarnate Word, Ward left for Washington State. Eric Morris, who was the head coach at Incarnate Word, left to become the offensive coordinator at Washington State and Ward followed him. North Texas hired Morris as head coach after one season at Washington State. Ward stayed in Pullman.
Ward became the top quarterback transfer during the 2023-24 portal cycle and Mario Cristobal and his staff were able to convince him to come to Miami. After being projected as a day two pick in 2024, Ward was the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after a record-setting season with Miami.
Ward flew under the radar in high school and early in college during an era when it is nearly impossible to do so. Ward steadily developed and moved up the ladder in college football to become the third first overall pick from Miami and the second Hurricanes QB who was the top draftee since Vinny Testaverde in 1987.