Mario Cristobal explains what Cam Ward's legacy at Miami is

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward is moving onto the NFL now, having spent one stellar season with the Miami program. Despite only spending that one season with the Hurricanes, head coach Mario Cristobal knows that Ward is leaving the program with an important legacy.

Following the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Cristobal shared some of his thoughts on Ward and what he meant to Miami. In particular, he praised Ward for helping to elevate Miami as a program.

“Even more so than the plays, the touchdowns, and the highlight reels [was] the fact that he played a major role along with guys like Jalen [Rivers] on bringing a team together,” Mario Cristobal said. “Which as we know, again, don’t want to beat a dead horse but [I] came back to Miami after 20-plus years to make sure that Miami gets back to a certain level and these guys have elevated it tremendously.”

The Miami Hurricanes are one of the proudest programs in college football, having won five national championships at the FBS level. However, in recent seasons, things have become more of a challenge for the Hurricanes. Miami has won double-digit games just twice since 2004. That includes the 2024 season when the offense was led by Cam Ward.

It was a phenomenal season on the field for Ward who had transferred into the program from Washington State. He finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting for the season, earning six first-place votes. That was on the back of a year that saw him complete 67.2 percent of passes for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns. He also rushed for 204 yards and another four touchdowns on the season.

“His play was spectacular,” Cristobal said. “But again, I think all the other stuff, the intangibles, the behind-the-scenes stuff, the getting to the, bringing players together, galvanizing a team and galvanizing a program, teaching guys how to watch tape, you name it. All the things that are required to be a really good Division I football player and great teammate, he was exemplary.”

Now, Cam Ward is going to turn his attention to preparing for the NFL. Meanwhile, Mario Cristobal is looking for a way to replace him. That has seen the Hurricanes turn to the Transfer Portal, adding Carson Beck from Georgia.

Field Yates breaks down ‘razor-thin’ talent gap between Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward

For the time being, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders appear to be the two best quarterbacks in this NFL Draft class. Still, it’s a razor-thin gap according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

“Razor-thin. Looking at the overall Big Board, we’re talking about Shedeur Sanders as my 14th-ranked player and Cam Ward as No. 17 overall. But the reality in the NFL is that quarterbacks are going to go early when you’ve got two teams as desperate for quarterbacks as the Giants and the Raiders are. And they have two very different styles of play. Shedeur Sanders, excellent pocket passer, terrific ball placement and accuracy. Great poise,” Yates said.

“That’s a trait that Cam Ward shares in common with him. Cam Ward, though, more of an ad-libbing type quarterback. He can make something out of nothing, a better overall athlete. Probably a stronger arm, as well. But these two players stack up very favorably to each other in this early portion of the pre-draft process.”