The times in Jacksonville began the identical for Cam Ward: throwing periods from 8 to 10 a.m., a brief break, then lifting till early afternoon. No courses, no distractions — simply targeted prep for the 2024 NFL Draft, surrounded by different like-minded future professionals at a coaching academy. He was able to be a professional.
Besides, he couldn’t shake one thought.
“I just thought there was more out there for me in college,” Ward instructed CBS Sports activities.
Fifteen months later, Ward’s draft prep is lastly full — the Tennessee Titans made Ward the the No. 1 total choose within the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday night time.
Ward solely stayed within the 2024 draft cycle for 13 days earlier than pulling out to switch to Miami, a choice that led to the Hurricanes’ first 10-win season since 2017 and launched Ward from fringe Day 2 prospect to the primary participant off the board Thursday night time.
These 13 days—and the unsure weeks round them—reshaped the 2024 faculty soccer season and rewrote the 2025 draft. That is the behind-the-scenes story of what occurred throughout a two-week diversion in Ward’s path from zero-star recruit to No. 1 total choose.
“I think coming back changed his career in a way I couldn’t put into words,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson mentioned.
Once I reported in December of 2023 that Ward was getting into the switch portal after his junior season at Washington State, it got here with a caveat: “He’s expected to keep his options open in terms of the NFL Draft.”
He did, certainly.
Ward’s household had gathered suggestions about getting into the draft following the 2022 season, which was Ward’s debut at Washington State after transferring in from FCS Incarnate Phrase. It was a robust consideration then, with the league inserting a Day 3 grade on him, however Ward opted to return to school.
Ward wasn’t in a rush to resolve between the NFL and faculty even after getting into the portal. He went by his commencement at Washington State and didn’t take a go to till Dec. 12, finally making a Sunshine State swing to see Miami and Florida State simply forward of the NCAA lifeless interval, which might reduce off in-person communication with faculties for the remainder of the calendar yr.
Then everybody waited … and waited … and waited. Initially, a choice appeared doubtless round Christmas. That didn’t occur. Then got here New Yr’s Eve and one other interval of silence.
Miami visited Kansas State QB Will Howard earlier than Ward. The Hurricanes additionally had some curiosity in Mississippi State QB Will Rodgers. However they determined to go all-in on Ward, the participant they believed might change their program following a disappointing seven-win season in Yr 2 below Mario Cristobal.
“I put all my eggs into Cam pretty early,” Dawson mentioned. “I didn’t want to take anybody until he told me ‘no.’ But it just got strung out. At some point we were pot committed. I thought it was going to bite me in the ass.”
Ultimately, with the portal set to shut on Jan. 2 and the prospect to search out another choice wanting slimmer by the day, Miami gave Ward an ultimatum: Resolve or we transfer on.
Resolve, he did.
Sitting on a coach and staring right into a digital camera on Jan. 1, Ward posted a five-second clip on social media at 10:46 a.m.: “What’s up, it’s Cam Ward. I’ll be declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.”
He packed his baggage and drove to Jacksonville two hours later.
Ward wasn’t locked into the draft, nonetheless. Except he signed with a NFL agent, he had till Jan. 15 to formally place his identify within the draft.
By forgoing signing with an agent by just a few weeks, Ward’s household saved all choices in play.
“We knew we had time,” Ward’s father, Calvin, mentioned. “We didn’t have to hire an agent. If you don’t have to, then we’ll wait. We left the door open just in case.”
The doubts crept in for Ward quite shortly. Day-after-day, he considered returning to high school. He beloved faculty soccer. He felt like he had extra to show, however he additionally wished to pursue his lifelong dream of enjoying within the professionals. It’s a debate that raged in his head and in personal conversations along with his small circle for weeks. That psychological battle didn’t reduce in Jacksonville.
Cam instructed his father one night time at 3 a.m. that he nonetheless beloved faculty soccer. Calvin misplaced sleep for days after that, questioning if his son was about to go down an NFL path he wasn’t prepared for.
Nonetheless, the door to school felt closed. Miami wasn’t in any actual communication with Ward for every week or so after he declared for the draft. The Hurricanes moved on. They’d no selection.
Miami tried to coax a veteran starter into the portal. That didn’t pan out. So, the Hurricanes went out and added Albany switch Reese Poffenbarger, a extremely productive FCS QB who introduced a wanted veteran presence to an in any other case younger quarterback room.
Then Miami, determined for a confirmed star for an in any other case championship-level offense, made an uncommon play and went exhausting after the Large Ten’s all-time main passer, Taulia Tagovailoa, who had entered the portal on Jan. 5 with a reasonably large caveat that he was out of eligibility.
The Hurricanes helped Tagovailoa craft a waiver attraction primarily based on the 5 video games he performed at Alabama through the 2019 season, which burned his redshirt. Tagovailoa performed solely two snaps in two of these video games that yr. Then-Alabama coach Nick Saban even wrote a letter of assist for Tagovailoa, noting he’d made a mistake in inserting him into a type of video games.
Tagovailoa visited the services, started studying the offense and made prepations to enroll. However Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich poured chilly water on that concept by telling the employees the waiver attraction was going to fail. It was mid-January by that point, and the Hurricanes have been out of choices.
Needing a Hail Mary, Miami’s govt soccer director Dennis Smith referred to as Ward on Facetime round 2:30 p.m. that afternoon. Calvin picked up.
The payment to signal Ward started at $2 million and didn’t go up throughout renegotiations, based on sources aware of the deal. Ward was comfy with the offensive line and the ability expertise he’d play with and figured it’d be place to lift his draft inventory. Miami did need to persuade its collective and boosters that $2 million could be price it. Few gamers in CFB, even quarterbacks, made that form of cash earlier than the 2023-24 winter portal cycle (now it might be thought of a cut price of the most affordable diploma).
The main points have been labored out. Cristobal, Dawson and Smith gathered in Miami’s facility the night of Jan. 13 and waited the social media submit to hit.
There have been no phrases, simply an emoji of a pen hitting paper and a graphic that learn: “Committed to the 305.”
Ward as soon as struggled to garner a single supply out of highschool.
He didn’t get prolonged reps on varsity till his junior yr at West Columbia Excessive Faculty in Texas. He performed in a Wing-T system. Division II faculties ghosted the household when in search of suggestions about his course of. Jimbo Fisher wished him to walk-on as a decent finish at Texas A&M.
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It’s with that context Ward calls his senior yr at Miami, the place he performed on the best doable stage and went to New York Metropolis as a Heisman Trophy finalist, a “full circle” second for his profession.
And all of it occurred due to a sense he couldn’t shake.
“He’s always believed he was the first pick, that caliber of player,” Dawson mentioned. “I believed it too. I told him from Day 1 that was our path, our goal to put enough stuff on film to silence all the doubters and get it to where you’re the first pick overall.”
There aren’t any doubters any longer.
He’s made the final word soccer journey: From no stars to No. 1 total.
