Cam Ward's NFL Draft journey: How 'unique' freshman year at Incarnate Word launched path toward No. 1 pick

North Texas coach Eric Morris heard an unexpected revelation in a phone conversation with Miami quarterback Cam Ward in the middle of the 2024 college football season. 

At that time, Ward – who led the Hurricanes to a 10-win season and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting – was trying to make sense of his accelerating stardom. Ward told Morris sometimes he wished it was 2021 again. Ward could play football, walk to his dorm room and play video games with his friends. 

That was life at the University of Incarnate Word. Not that Ward was not appreciative of his success. He just knows the origin story. 

Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp

"That just tells you a little about having those true relationships and going through those experiences," Morris – who was Ward's coach at Incarnate Word from 2020-21, told Sporting News. "At the end of the day, he loves playing football and competing. I think he is perfect for what's about to happen."

Ward is projected to be the No. 1 pick by the Tennessee Titans at the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday. That would be the next step in a journey where a Wing-T quarterback at Columbia High School in West Columbia, Texas, developed into a prolific passer at the FBS level with Washington State and Miami. 

"It is rare to see a guy come that far to be No. 1 pick in the Draft – from Incarnate Word to Washington State," ESPN analyst Mel Kiper told Sporting News. "We were talking about him in August being a third-round pick."

Ward silenced the doubters one more time at Miami in 2024. He led the nation with 39 TD passes for the Hurricanes and won the Manning Award given to the nation's top quarterback. 

"It's been a blessing from being a zero-star recruit to putting myself in this position to accept this award to hopefully having my name called in the next couple of months," Ward said after accepting the Manning Award on Jan. 29. "I've been working my whole life for it. I've been surrounded by good people along the way, from every stop, from every receiver I've had from UIW all the way to Miami."

What, exactly, is UIW again? That time at Incarnate Word is arguably the most-fascinating part of Ward's journey.

MORE: SN's latest three-round Mock Draft

Where is Incarnate Word? Cam Ward's first college stop 

Morris watched Ward on the summer camp circuit, but with limited passing attempts in a Wing-T offense the Incarnate Word coach relied on film from a different sport. 

"He threw a great ball, a powerful ball, and his footwork was actually pretty good from the gun," Morris said. "I do think seeing him play other sports – to see his competitive nature come out on the basketball court – to see his ability to maneuver space on the basketball floor. To see him be a point guard and make unbelievable passes and decisions in a hurry to be a great scorer. All those things tied in to at least giving us insight." 

That was the learning curve at Incarnate Word – an FCS school in San Antonio, Texas, whose football program began in Division II in 2009. The Cardinals were coming off a 1-10 season when Morris – who was a former player and assistant coach at pass-happy Texas Tech – arrived in 2018. Morris was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach from 2015-17 for the Red Raiders – and Patrick Mahomes was the quarterback in two of those seasons.

Ward had to learn a different game when he arrived at Incarnate Word. 

"It's a big transition going from a one-read system to a progression read system," Ward told SN before his first season at Washington State in 2022. "That was the biggest thing I struggled with when I first learned the offense was going from my first read to my second read all the way to checking the ball down. ... The transition to that spread system allowed me to go through the whole progression and see space on the field and get the ball to my playmakers."

MORE NFL DRAFT:

• Top 10 QBs
• Top 10 RBs
• Top 10 WRs
• Top 10 TEs
• Top 10 Edge rushers

How two years at Incarnate Word shaped Cam Ward's future 

Ward's freshman year was 2020 during the height of COVID-19 restrictions. Incarnate Word – like several FCS programs – did not play a fall season in 2020. 

It was a tough situation for an incoming freshman. 

"The unique thing about Cam and his whole story is that during COVID as an FCS team is that his whole first six months all he did was practice," Morris said. "He was able to gain so many reps out there and they weren't reps that were game reps where he needed to perform at a whole new level."

Ward was competing with two-year starter Jon Copeland – the 2018 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year – for reps in practice. Incarnate Word tried to schedule a game against Arkansas State on Dec. 12, 2020, and Morris told both quarterbacks the plan heading into what amounted to a one-game season.

"I told them both we're going to do a live scrimmage and whoever plays better we're going to name the starter for this game," Morris said. "I'll never forget Cam's face when I told him that. He looked at me and said, 'Coach, I'm going to win this damn quarterback job.' He walked out and shut the door. That scrimmage was the first time we saw him compete for something that was tangible, something he could see in front of him and he was phenomenal as this true freshman. There was no doubt in anybody's mind after that."

The scrimmage was canceled because the Cardinals had a COVID outbreak, but Ward won the starting job for a truncated 2021 spring season in which he passed for 2,260 yards, 24 TDs and four interceptions. 

That foreshadowed the 2021 regular season opener in the fall – where he passed for 352 yards and four TDs in a 44-41 loss to Youngstown State. Incarnate Word would finish 9-2 and reach the FCS playoffs for the second time in school history. 

"He had a really unusual first year of college of his progression and being able to play a year, and then all of a sudden that year doesn't count," Morris said. "Then he comes out as a true freshman and is arguably the best quarterback in the nation at the FCS level that year. In a normal timeline, I don't know if it would have been the same." 

MORE: Big board top 200 | Mock with trades

Cam Ward nearly led Incarnate Word to upset of No. 1 FCS team 

Ward led the Cardinals to a 35-28 victory against Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the 2021 FCS playoffs – a game in which he finished 39 of 54 passing for 329 yards, four TDs and no interceptions. 

That set up a matchup with No. 1 Sam Houston on Dec. 4, 2021. 

"He told me before that game, 'If you let me throw it 60 times, we'll win this game,'" Morris said. "That's the confidence he had. I've been around him long enough. I think that confidence comes off to some people as cocky, but I think it's his confidence in himself because he's always had to take the harder road."

Ward was close on the prediction. He finished 39 of 61 for 481 yards and five TDs in a 49-42 loss. Ward was stopped short of the goal line on a quarterback keeper on fourth-and-goal with eight seconds remaining. Incarnate Word lost, but it was clear Ward was ready for an upgrade in competition.

He finished that season with 4,648 yards, 47 TDs and 10 interceptions. 

"With Cam, one of his greatest attributes is how calm he is when the game is going on," said Morris, who left UIW for Washington State with Ward in 2022 and was his offensive coordinator for one season before taking the North Texas job. "You can see that at every level. You can see it at Incarnate Word, and then they were like, 'Well, can he do that at Washington State?' Well, he's the same way when he's playing Oregon and getting out of stuff and launching the ball 70 yards down the field for touchdowns. Then it's like, 'OK, can he go do that at Miami?'"

Ward did that last season when he rallied the Hurricanes from a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 39-38 victory against Cal. Ward led four TD drives on four possessions. He matched the 10-win season that he enjoyed with the Cardinals. In five college seasons at three schools, Ward totaled 18,137 yards, 158 TDs and 38 interceptions. 

"Everywhere I have been at, I've produced," Ward said. "At Incarnate Word I had over 4,000 yards passing, at Washington State I was in the high 3,000s. The biggest thing for me, I wanted to win football games at a high level." 

How Incarnate Word legacy led to Cam Ward being No. 1 pick 

Kiper – ESPN's lead NFL Draft analyst since 1984 – always lists strengths and weaknesses in his evaluation of quarterback prospects. He recognizes the downside of the sacks and interceptions through that two-year stint at Incarnate Word, but one attribute stood out most. 

"You saw the arm talent," Kiper said. "I watched him there. Then he goes to Washington State, and he does the same thing. I started getting calls at that point – 'Cam Ward is an interesting guy.' He can throw the ball with anybody, and at Washington State he was sacked a lot, but he threw touchdown passes, rushed for TDs and showed the ability to beat the defense with his legs, and the completion percentage was around 67%. 

"He did the exact same thing at Miami," Kiper said. "So he played at three different programs at a high level. He cut down on the sacks last year, and the arm talent is undeniable."

#IncarnateWorld QB Cameron Ward can really spin it man...makes some awesome throws off platform and can change his arm angles. Intriguing player... pic.twitter.com/elhN9tKn5l

Archie Manning – the No. 2 pick in the 1971 NFL Draft – presented Ward with the Manning Award on Jan. 29. He believes Ward – who attended the Manning Passing Academy – could follow the same path as Manning Award winners Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels. Those former LSU quarterbacks were the No. 1 picks in the 2020 and 2024 NFL Drafts respectively. 

"Cam just produces and he's played so much football," Manning said at the ceremony. "He was an outstanding quarterback. He saw so many different things. I'm sure looking back at it now, Cam would admit another year of college football prepares you for that transition to the NFL." 

Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders are the projected top two quarterbacks in the draft. Both quarterbacks won the Jerry Rice Award – which is given to the top FCS freshman. Ward won the award in 2020. Sanders won the award the following season at Jackson State. 

"It goes to the journey I've been through – from winning my first award in college – the Jerry Rice Award to winning (the Manning Award), one of the most-prestigious award in college football," Ward said after winning the Manning Award. "It just shows you what hard work can do." 

Morris, meanwhile, maintains that close relationship with Ward from the Incarnate Word days. Morris said his son Jack, 9, still talks to Ward on FaceTime. They will attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisc., on Thursday. Morris' philosophy hasn't changed either. He recruited John Mateer to Washington State after watching him play shortstop for Little Elm (Texas) High School. Mateer transferred to Oklahoma this season. That is one of the secrets of Texas high school success. 

"Good multiple sports athletes," Morris said. "I think you gain a lot of positive traits from playing other sports and seeing space in different ways and angles. I go back to Case Keenum, Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Cam Ward. All these guys have excelled at a bunch of different things."

For Ward, that has been at several different places. That is why Morris believes it will be more of the same if the Titans select Ward with the No. 1 pick on Thursday. Ward proved it at Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami. 

"All these experiences are going to allow him to be more ready to go in and step in and be the face of the franchise and be a leader because he has to go into new locker rooms and win teams over," Morris said. "He's done this before."