Mario Cristobal looks back on recruiting process of Cam Ward

Following the 2023 season, the Miami Hurricanes decided to go looking for a new quarterback in the Transfer Portal. Eventually, they landed on Cam Ward, but it was a journey to get to that point.

With Spring practice in full swing, head coach Mario Cristobal looked back on that recruiting process and explained why he was willing to put in the effort for Cam Ward.

“Like a lot of the recruiting battles we have,” Mario Cristobal said. “It’s always a marathon when you’re getting after it and if you truly believe in it you’ll stay with it and you’ll stick to the truth. You just recruit guys with genuine passion, with honesty, transparency, and I don’t know. There was a feeling all along that no matter how it initially played out that he wanted to be a Miami Hurricane.”

At the start of December 2023, Cam Ward entered the Transfer Portal and became one of the best available quarterbacks. Pretty quickly, it seemed like he’d either go to Miami or Florida State. Then, it became a bit of a roller coaster as his choice came down to Miami or the NFL. Eventually, he did enter the NFL Draft before backing out and transferring to Miami instead.

“Whether he admits that later or not, I’ll say he’s full of it,” Cristobal said. “But when that call came in, I didn’t know if I wanted to high-five or jump through the screen and put him in a headlock. You know? But the weight was worth it. Guys like that, we felt that, you know how it is, guys like that that can make change and make a big difference not just as a player but as a human being are–they come around not too often.”

Miami is the third school in Cam Ward’s career. He previously played for Incarnate Word before transferring to Washington State. In two seasons with the Cougars, he completed 65.5 percent of passes for 6,968 passing yards and 48 touchdowns. He also rushed for 202 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Now, Cam Ward is hoping to help Miami find success in the 2024 season.

“So far so good. We haven’t played a game yet,” Cristobal said. “So, don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. It’s been an awesome spring. A lot of progress across the board in so many different areas, but mostly the fact that the team is finding ways to compete in everything we do. Very happy that Cam Ward is here.”

Mario Cristobal explains what made Cam Ward a good fit at Miami

When recruiting Cam Ward to Miami, Mario Cristobal explained what he saw that made him such a good fit for the program.

“There’s a lot of things. I mean, he’s an explosive player who’s a great leader. He’s got a great presence about him, he’s been in big games, big situations, tough situations. Has been overmatched personnel-wise and still finds a way to create some dynamic explosive plays, manage a game, make a lot out of a little sometimes. And at the same time, he’s very goal driven. He’s very intent on helping Miami become a prominent football program once again,” Cristobal said.

“And he does not shy away from competition. You saw, we have a young quarterback room that’s talented, and we had another portal quarterback as well in Reese [Poffenbarger]. Those two guys have approached this the right kind of way where it’s you’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to be your best and you’ve got to compete for it. Cam has not disappointed, man. He has been awesome as a leader. He has been awesome as a competitor. We have our fourth-quarter drills out there man and he’s trying to win. He’s trying to win all the reps. So all in all, really fired up that he’s here. I think you’ll enjoy watching him this spring.”