With Washington State, the Hurricanes have reached their most important target on the transfer quarterback market Cam Ward made his promise after visiting Miami and Florida State.
Not only did Miami acquire one of the best quarterbacks on the transfer market in Ward, UM also acquired the signal caller who best fits its “air raid” approach to the passing game.
Ward (6-2, 220) went under the radar out of Columbia High School in South Texas because he ran a run-based Wing-T offense at that level. The FCS-level Incarnate Word program was Ward's best option after he graduated high school, and the COVID-19 pandemic pushed his first football season from the fall to the spring — and that extra time made it possible the quarterback to get used to a pass-heavy attack.
At Incarnate Word, Ward threw for 6,908 yards with 71 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 19 games at the FCS level. During the 2021 season at IWU, Ward threw for 4,648 yards with 47 touchdowns and ten interceptions.
After dominating the FCS level for two seasons, Ward transferred to Washington State, where he also ran an “Air Raid” system and produced at a high level, totaling 6,966 yards with 48 touchdowns and 16 interceptions against the PAC 12 competitions in two seasons. During the 2023 season, Ward threw for 3,735 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
All of this is to say that Ward is still a quarterback who is still developing a lot – and it's extremely encouraging that he's showing improvement with each passing year at the college level while playing “Air Raid” in the passing attack.
Broadly speaking, the “Air Raid” system wants its quarterback to excel in two key areas: 1). Get the ball out quickly and precisely in the short passing game and 2). Connection for shots in the field.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ward completed 89.4 percent of his pass attempts behind the line of scrimmage during Washington State's 2023 season with an average throw time of 1.65 seconds. He completed 76.7 percent of his passes from zero to nine yards behind the line of scrimmage, with an average time to throw of 2.08 seconds.
For comparison, Tyler Van Dyke completed 90.9 percent of his completions behind the offensive line with an average throw time of 1.88 seconds on those attempts. Van Dyke completed 73.7 percent of his passes from zero to nine yards beyond the line of scrimmage with an average time to throw of 2.37 seconds.
Ward was just as accurate as Van Dyke and got the ball out much quicker (that tenth of a second is important in the fast game when it comes to getting the ball into the receiver's space).
Ward was also an excellent passer when it came to targeting receivers further down the field. According to Pro Football Focus, Ward completed 23 of 57 deep-ball attempts for 725 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. In the intermediate passing phase (10 to 19 yards behind the line of scrimmage), Ward completed 60 of 91 attempts for 1,150 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. For comparison, Van Dyke completed 20 of 42 deep attempts for 726 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. In the intermediate passing game, Van Dyke completed 45 of 81 attempts for 774 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions.
One big difference Ward will see in Miami is an improved offensive line. Van Dyke was held clean on 77.1 percent of his dropbacks in 2023, while Ward was held clean on 69.8 percent of his dropbacks by the Washington State protection. When Van Dyke stayed clean, he averaged 8.7 yards per attempt with 17 touchdowns and ten interceptions. When Ward stayed clean, he averaged 7.9 yards per attempt with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Ward also brings a mobility dimension to the quarterback position, as he ran for 144 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023. According to PFF, Ward gained 274 yards on scrambles and 110 yards on designed quarterback runs. He completed 16 runs of at least ten yards and converted 35 first downs with his legs. Compare those numbers to Van Dyke, who rushed for 40 yards as a scrambler and 44 yards on designed runs. Van Dyke caught five first downs with his legs.
While Ward brings agility to the position, he has to break some bad habits that are causing him to lose control of the football. During his four seasons at the collegiate level, Ward accounted for 46 fumbles – an average of about one per game. During his two seasons at Washington State, Ward had seven multi-fumble plays.
Overall, Ward is still a developing quarterback with improving skills who could use an extra year of college eligibility to further hone his craft. The COVID year of extra eligibility allows older quarterbacks to be almost like semi-pros at the college level. Ward had the opportunity to be selected in the sixth or seventh round of the NFL Draft in 2024. Instead, he will take advantage of the opportunity to play in Miami, hone his skills at the college level for another year and improve his eligibility for the 2025 NFL draft.
Miami needs to step up in the third year of the Mario Cristobal era, and Ward is the type of talented quarterback who can help the Hurricanes reach the next level.