The Heisman Award for Cam Ward? Absolutely count him in! says his mama. To the world, Cam Ward might be a phenom. But to his parents, he is still that lil Cameron, who worked hard and put in the hours. In the recent video by Miami Hurricanes, there is an up close and personal version of the Ward parents.  Finally, the day is near when the Ward couple now knows how their every sacrifice has been worth it. The 22-year-old has been a Heisman favorite for most of the season. But poor Ward! Looks like his luck is not in his favor as his squad, Miami Hurricanes got too close to fire and took their first defeat. With this, Ward is losing out his fan base as a renowned analyst no longer counts on the QB, and his rivals Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty reel in all the support.  

Ward is the youngest of four siblings. So it’s natural to be his parents’ apple of the eye. With this, for the place he has reached today, a part of the credit goes to his family, who has been there for him right from his FCS-level Incarnate Word, Washington State, and now Miami. His parents Patrice and Calvin Ward have ensured to be there physically, each and every time their son had hit the field, missing not even a single game. Patrice even stated why this has now become a ritual, “It’s important because he wants us there and he knows that we’re there to support him and when he looks up in the stands he’ll see us and he knows hey whatever it is we’re here for you.”

But they hardly get any chance to meet their son. For instance, they would be there at odd hours and as Ward’s dad shared, “We get to see him maybe a couple hours on Friday morning before he goes to walk through he comes back for an hour then they off to the team hotel so just that just those few hours we would get to see him.” Well, the parents are not complaining about the short time they are getting as even that short meet-ups feel rewarding. All his mother now wants to see is Ward holding the shiny trophy as Patrice now is super confident that “He is going to always be our Heisman winner.” But will Ward be able to make his parents proud by handing over to them the much-waited bronze trophy? Chances look thin, though!

How Cam Ward’s Heisman narrative changed

So what Ward is only 22 years old? In no way can he be taken lightly. The Hurricanes QB’s stats will be enough to make you understand his talent. He ranks first nationally with 3,494 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns and has broken many records in the Hurricanes history. But their game against Georgia Tech unveiled a different side of Ward.

The Heisman contender was spotted struggling against Brent Key’s boys. After being pressurized by the Yellow Jackets, Mario Cristobal’s QB threw an incompletion on fourth-and-3 from Georgia. And with this single feat, Ward fell in analyst Joe DeLeone’s eyes. To him, this was not expected from the Miami QB who had the support of one of the best running backs, Damien Martinez. “You gotta control the games a little bit more, you gotta lean on teams, you want to get that pass rush away, lean on them more,” suggested DeLeone. On the flip side, another CFB insider straightway struck off Ward’s name from the Heisman contender’s list.    

According to CJ Vogel, in the Heisman race, no one other than the Buffs dual-threat Hunter and Boise State phenom RB Ashton Jeanty stands a chance. “The 2024 Heisman should be a 2-man invitation – Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter. Miss me with Cam Ward. Miss with Dillon Gabriel. It’s a two man race.” It’s now or never for Ward to silence the critics and make his parents boast the proud smile.