Yet another ‘love over hate’ story in college sports. This time it’s Miami Hurricanes QB Cam Ward who has marked himself safe from any negative feelings. Being a front-runner in the Heisman race, must have been tough, right? But Ward has set an example for himself and his teammates all around who are “obsessed” with their Heisman fate and not quite bothered about the final goal. However, the Miami QB is no longer about the smaller goals as he is now shooting for stars not to land on the moon, but only on the stars. But what happened to that competitive spirit of Ward that did not inch back before verbally tormenting Shedeur on the field? Maybe that’s how sportsmen grow. 

The hype machine for Ward is humming right now as the odds of the Miami QB winning the Heisman are at the top. After all, Week 9 has been Ward’s week as he put up a great feat in the Hurricanes’ win against Florida State. The talented signal-caller threw 208 yards and caught a 7-yard touchdown pass. Giving tough competition to Colorado Buffaloes dual-threat Travis Hunter and Oregon Ducks Dillon Gabriel, Ward is now chilling in his own zen vibes. Looks like zero care was given by the QB for landing it big in the Heisman.

“My goal is not to be the Heisman trophy winner. My goal is to win football games and play for a national championship,” Ward dished out his bold claim. Well, that’s altogether different from other frontrunners who now function only for getting the Heisman limelight, making it all about the Heisman race and as if everything revolves around it. For instance, Boise State Broncos RB Ashton Jeanty has dedicated himself to a mission to be the best in order to land his hands on the trophy. He sounded all hopeful, “For me, what I’ve been doing hasn’t been done in 36, 37 years, so that’s something special. If I keep that up and break a record that’s been around for 36 years, I feel like you can’t really compete with that.”  

Even the Buffs’ two-way star has been all about his stats and competition. “If I had 95 targets on defense, what do you think I’ll have? He’s [Jeanty] got double the touches I’ve got on the offensive side of the ba-l and I still have defensive stats that’s still crazy,” claimed Hunter. However, given Ward’s experience, more ‘hunger’ was expected from him in the Heisman. 

From the underdog to Heisman contender, Cam Ward’s rocky road to success

After all, Ward did not have a smooth ride at the beginning of his career.  He and his father, Calvin, had to go knocking from one door to the other in search of opportunities. The QB had visited Texas A&M, Houston and Texas State camps but no one was willing to take him up. So in 2020 he ended up with the Incarnate Word Cardinals before hitting the portal in December 2021 and landed with the Washington State Cougars. And then came the turning point of his life.

Ward somehow came under the Miami Hurricanes radar and that’s it! He never had to look back ever again. The College GameDay shared a glimpse of Ward’s journey, “Cam Ward had 0 FBS scholarship offers out of high school. He is currently the third favorite behind Travis Hunter and Dillon Gabriel to win the Heisman.” Ward too never pushed it under the carpet of how he had faced back-to-back snubs, “I do play with a lot of hate in my heart just because of what I had to go through since high school, recruiting-wise, knowing I was better than a lot of other quarterbacks out here.”

Well, the hate splurged out when the Hurricanes QB trash talked Deion Sanders’ son and QB Shedeur Sanders and threw him an open challenge, “I bet I complete more go bal-s than you give me the ba-l you.” Looks like the duo has mend their bonds as Shedeur few days back claimed, “I just hate when people always try to put us against each other.” So right now Cam Ward is all about good vibes and championship dreams! Is it really so or is it his sly way of misguiding the contenders?