Cam Ward Sends Strong NFL Draft Message to Teams

Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, Miami quarterback Cam Ward is seen as a potential No. 1 overall pick and will almost certainly be the first QB taken off the board. Ward’s physical participation in the upcoming NFL combine remains undecided, but there is no denying his confidence. On Monday night, Ward sent a warning to teams around the NFL while receiving the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top college quarterback:

“OK, you’re either going to draft me or you’re not,” Ward said. “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.”

Ward faced criticism following Miami’s bowl game, a game in which he only played the first half, and was responding to the potential for scouts and/or team personnel questioning if he quit on his teammates by sitting out the second half. Before sitting out the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Ward went 12-of-19 for 190 yards and three touchdowns — leading Miami to a 31-28 lead. Additionally, Ward broke the NCAA Division I record for career touchdown passes before halftime. The Hurricanes would go on to score 10 points in the second half en route to a 42-41 loss to Iowa State.

“I just think we all got what we needed out of it. They seen things that they think they need to work on … for this season coming up. And they also knew, you know, what I had on the line,” Ward said. “We feel like we’re doing what’s best for the program and myself. I mean, it was a hard decision, especially when, you know, some guys on our team didn’t play who I thought should have played. It was also, you know, those guys thought about their future the same way I thought about mine.”

“If I could do it again, I’d do it the same way,” Ward said Monday. “I wish we could have ended up winning the game. If we had won the game, they wouldn’t have said nothing. And so, that’s usually how it goes. And you know, you just got to take it on the chin and just keep pushing.”

Before his spectacular season with the Hurricanes, Ward starred at Incarnate Word and Washington State. In addition to throwing an NCAA record 158 TDs, the future NFL QB finished third all-time with 18,189 passing yards. Ward’s confidence is warranted, but fans of his eventual team must hope that Ward’s words don’t come back to bite him like Josh Rosen’s did.

Following a strong career at UCLA, Rosen entered the 2018 NFL Draft and was seen as a potential No. 1 pick. Instead, Rosen fell to No. 10. After being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals, Rosen told NFL Network, “There were nine mistakes ahead of me.”

Rosen started 13 games as a rookie and went 3-10, completed 55.2% of his passes, and threw 11 TDs and 14 INTs. The former ballyhooed recruit was traded to Miami following his rookie season and made just three more starts in his career. Let’s hope Ward has a lot more success.