HOUSTON – The rocket arm, dynamic, electrifying style of play and prolific success of the top college football quarterback were once dramatically overlooked.
It took years for the rare talent of Cam Ward to be discovered and put on full display at college football’s biggest stage.
The unique journey of the 22-year-old West Columbia High School graduate from a small town in Brazoria County with 3,644 residents and being a zero-star recruit to emerge as the top overall pick in the NFL draft for the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night is essentially unprecedented.
It reminds Calvin Ward, Cam’s father of the path of Brett Favre from relative obscurity in rural Mississippi. Now, Ward is the pride of Brazoria County and the talk of the NFL.
His parents have been with him every step of the way, including being with him at the draft in Green Bay when his name will be called and he’ll walk across the stage to shake hands with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
“We do pinch ourselves,” said Patrice Ward, his mother, in a telephone interview with KPRC 2. “It’s a very overwhelming feeling, full of excitement, full of joy and hope. He’s come to this point and we can’t really explain the feeling about the goodness and grace of God and Cameron working so hard to fulfill his dreams.
“It’s very overwhelming with so much going on. He wouldn’t change anything. We instilled in him to be a God-fearing young man who treats people the right way.”
The reasons why Ward, a consensus All-American, winner of the Davey O’Brien and Manning Awards and Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, wasn’t a recruiting priority primarily stem from his roots in a small town and operating a winning, run-first Wing-T offense that rarely called for him to throw the football. Eric Morris always believed and was instrumental in Ward’s path to Incarnate Word and Washington State. The rest is history.
“It’s been all God,” Cam Ward said. “He’s blessed me my entire journey. I prayed for this moment. I’ve been around some great players that helped me get to this place. The coaching staff really helped me since coming in as a young 17-year-old kid running a wing T offense. So, it’s being full circle, but I’m blessed for sure.”
That’s how he went from Incarnate Word and winning the Jerry Rice award as the nation’s top freshman and passing for 4,648 yards, 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a sophomore and being named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year to success at Washington State as a transfer, and, finally, at Miami in his winding pathway.
“I don’t know of any other case, I kind of hear the Brett Favre story was similar, but I don’t know if it will ever happen again,” said Calvin Ward, his father. “It’s a great story, but it was so hard. I don’t think most people realize how hard it was.
“It was a constant need to find a mega camp or a college camp to showcase him and how far is it? How can we get there? Then, getting positive feedback with no one willing to offer him because they didn’t see it on film. Fortunately, he never gave up. He never complained. He said, ‘I’m going to keep working and keep finding places to go.”
With a more patient approach for the Hurricanes in his final season of college football, Ward controlled the game with his arm and his legs. He was absolutely stellar, passing for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for 204 yards and four touchdowns. He was fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
His anticipation of throwing lanes, ability to improvise and adapt on the fly to defenses and his mobility all set Cam Ward apart.
Touch and timing are major pluses to Ward’s game.
Adapting to new environments and his leadership are other traits that make Ward a standout. He appreciates what it’s taken to get to this point.
“It shaped it well from playing Wing T, to traveling to Pullman, Washington all the way into Miami,” Ward said. “I just think me having to get experience different changes, different atmospheres, traveling across the country, it’s going to end up helping me in the long run because, at the end of the day, you never know what football will take you. You never know what God has in store for you, so I’ve just been blessed.”
He finished his entire career with 18,137 yards and 158 touchdown passes with 20 touchdown runs. No quarterback has thrown as many touchdown passes as Ward in NCAA history.
“It was a lot of fun for us,” Calvin Ward said of the Miami experience. “It was a great experience. The difference was the U on the side of the helmet.”
Ward bet on himself. He remained grounded and humble. His parents made sure of that, and they kept him motivated.
And they’re extremely proud of their son, all he’s accomplished and all he’ll, hopefully, do in the future.
Calvin Ward works for the local electrical utility company. Patrice Ward retired after teaching school for three decades.
Competing at West Columbia, Ward made the most of the experience in football and basketball.
When he’s not playing football, Ward is working out, spending time with family, going to church or fishing.
“Cameron is a student of the game,” Calvin Ward said. “He just wanted to work hard. He’s still going to get better every day at anything new he puts his mind to. He’s going to study hard, work hard to make himself better. He wants to be better for the team. He wants to be good for everybody. That’s just being a leader.”
Ward doesn’t have an agent. His father has been representing him along with some outside help in marketing.
“It’s been a good experience,” Calvin Ward said. “We try to manage all of it. I was an agent a long time ago. It’s a lot of work, but we’re indoctrinated into it all.”
Before the family flew to Green Bay for the draft, Ward remained hard at work with a throwing session with his longtime quarterbacks coach Darrell Colbert.
“He’s working out right now,” Calvin Ward said. “We’re waiting for him to get home and then get on the plane to go to Wisconsin.”
The family has met with the Titans coaching staff and owner Amy Adams Strunk several times.
“We’re very impressed with them,” Calvin Ward said. “If the Titans select him No. 1, we’re going to be big Titans fans. Hopefully, he’s the Titans missing piece to being back in the playoffs.”
“We’re just glad he’s in this position,” Patrice Ward said. “The only thing Cameron wants for Thursday is for the commissioner to call his name and ask the team for playbook.”
The family has been patient for years. Now, the moment is finally here. Cam Ward is bound for the NFL.
“Cameron, he has the faith and the trust in God,” Patrice Ward said. “He’s going to stay on that journey. He loves his family. The most important thing is being a good person, and that’s what Cameron is, first and foremost.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
