Archie Manning, left, presents Miami quarterback Cam Ward, with the Manning award during a ceremony at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
[Cam Ward](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/4b65c3b6-0380-11f0-b0bc-5310943a45e0/) is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft next month, and while the star quarterback from the University of Miami will be honored if it happens, it’s not a priority for him.
For a former no-star recruit out of tiny West Columbia, Texas, just making it to the NFL will be the fulfillment of lifelong dream.
“I’m not worried too much about where I’m picked,” Ward said Monday night before officially receiving the Manning Award at a ceremony at the Caesars Superdome. “I just want a jersey number so I can play football.”
Ward’s humble answer drew a round of applause from the crowd in attendance at the Manning Award ceremony. The Manning Award has been awarded annually by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top quarterback in college football since 2004, but Ward is the first Hurricanes quarterback to receive the honor.
Other finalists were Carson Beck (Georgia), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), John Mateer (Washington State), Kyle McCord (Syracuse), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), Kurtis Rourke (Indiana), and Shedeur Sanders (Colorado).
“Cam is a great Manning Award winner,” Archie Manning said. “He’s played a lot of college football and had a great career, outstanding senior year. He's battle tested. He's ready for whatever happens (in the NFL).”
Ward took a break from his hectic workout schedule of draft preparations in Miami to fly in for the event. His parents, Calvin and Patrice, flew in from Texas to join him for the festivities.
“I'm blessed to receive this award, especially because of the Mannings and the history that they have, just football knowledge-wise,” Ward said. “This is a team award. It’s just got my name on it.”
In his lone season at Miami, Ward turned in arguably the best passing campaign in Hurricanes history. He completed 305 of 454 passes for 4,313 yards and a school-record and nation-leading 39 touchdowns. He was a consensus All-American, the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. His 4,313 passing yards and 305 completions broke the school records set by Bernie Kosar in 1984 (262 completions, 3,642 yards).
If the Tennessee Titans or another team makes Ward the top selection in the draft, he would become the eighth Manning Award winner to go No. 1, following Jamarcus Russell, Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow and Bryce Young.
“The pick is never anything,” Ward said, when asked what it would mean to him to be selected No. 1. “If someone wants to be known for a pick, they're not playing for the right reasons.”
NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms recently ranked Ward the top quarterback in the draft.
“He’s a franchise quarterback, and I think that’s a big reason why you haven’t heard the Titans involved in any conversation with any veteran quarterback is because I think they see what I see,” Simms said on his “Unbuttoned” podcast. “I’d be shocked if any team didn’t have Cam Ward No. 1 on their (draft) board. This is a slam dunk.”
Ward’s relationship with the Mannings dates to 2023, when he attended the family’s prestigious Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux. He was part of counselor class that summer that included, among others, Drake Maye, Michael Penix, Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier and Quinn Ewers.
Unlike many of his predecessors, Ward was not a blue-chip recruit. He was essentially a no-star recruit out of Columbia High School, where his mother was the girls basketball coach. The Roughnecks ran the Wing-T offense, so Ward attempted only about 12 passes a game on average. Consequently, his only scholarship offer was from the University of the Incarnate Word, a private FCS school in San Antonio that began playing football in 2009.
He put up mind-boggling numbers there in 2021, passing for more than 6,900 yards and scoring 74 touchdowns through his first 19 college games, before following then-UIW head coach Eric Morris to Washington State. After two record-breaking seasons with the Cougars, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound Ward transferred to Miami this past offseason and led the Hurricanes to a 10-3 record and No. 13 national ranking.
“I just put my head down, worked every day, and that's what I did going from UIW to Wazzu to Miami,” Ward said. “I've been praying for this moment since I was 6, and so I'm just blessed to be here. To everybody who was in a situation like me, who's still going to be in a situation like me, not having scholarships and all of that, all you got to do is believe in God and work. Those two things, they'll take care of everything.”