Cam Ward

After transferring to Miami before the 2024 season, teammates and coaches alike can’t stop raving about Cam Ward. They've praised his skill level and work ethic, but they're especially drawn to how he worked to connect with the players around him. “He earned trust, and he earned trust by the fact that he’s up there in the office every waking free moment that he has,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “He gets there early, and he leaves late. He pulls aside the receivers and the tight ends, and he watches film with them, and he takes the linemen out to eat. He spends time with the running backs, and then he waits after practice and does some more stuff with other guys that maybe were off a little bit. And then he comes in on Saturdays and gets extra work. Trust and confidence [are] earned. It’s not just given away. What he has done, he has earned. He’s earned the trust of the people around him because of his time invested and the fact that he’s an alpha and well, your quarterback needs to be an alpha.” Ward entered the 2024 season with one of the best resumes in college football. During the 2023 season at Washington State, Ward completed 66.7% of his passes and threw for 3,732 yards, with 25 touchdowns, while rushing for another eight scores. He was the Pac-12’s regular-season leader in completions with 323 and was fourth in the country with an average of 311.3 passing yards per game. Before Washington State, Ward played at Incarnate Word, where he was named second-team FCS All-America and the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year. “The first day, I wanted to test him out," Miami teammate Rueben Bain Jr. said. "He was throwing the ball on the field, and I was by the exit, and I told him to throw me the ball. I was like 60 yards away and he threw it on the dot,” Bain said. “That’s the thing that stuck out to me. … There have been a couple of times where I’ve tried to make an inside move and he’s made me regret it. He’s real swift on his feet.”