Cam Ward's release stands out to Sam Brown Jr.

As Miami heads deeper into the Mario Cristobal era, it does so by relying on a transfer quarterback to turn things around. Enter Washington State gunslinger Cam Ward.

Ward has already turned some heads in fall camp, not the least of which have belonged to his receivers.

Fifth-year junior Sam Brown has seen quite a few quarterbacks come through Miami in recent years, but he hasn’t seen any of them with one particular part of Ward’s game.

“Just his release,” Brown said. “How he sees things before it happens, like even with — I don’t want to say too much. Even with how the defense is trying to disguise coverage, he kind of already knows how they’re going to bluff off show-and-tell, off of film watch.”

That elevated understanding of where to be and where to put the football has made Cam Ward one of college football’s most dangerous signal-callers. He’s coming off two years with the Cougars in which he threw for 6,963 yards and 48 touchdowns, while also rushing for 13 touchdowns.

He’s as productive as they come, and Miami has talent stacked after a couple years letting head coach Mario Cristobal hit the recruiting trail.

Importantly, too, Cam Ward appears to be developing some nice connections with his primary targets.

“Pretty well. We pretty much connect every day,” Brown said of how things are going. “I try to. Then when we’re not really connecting we’ll try to get throws in after the practice. So the routine is not necessarily a drop-off.”

If Ward can come out firing on all cylinders, Miami has a chance to reach the College Football Playoff. Already some, like ESPN’s Pete Thamel, have predicted Miami to be a playoff team.

Others might be willing to jump on board once they see the kind of difference Ward can make.

The Hurricanes will need it, too. The schedule does few favors, with a season opener against rival Florida sure to provide plenty of talking points for both teams. That game will take place at 3:30 p.m. on ABC on Aug. 31.