“If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.” Cam Ward’s statement before the 2025 NFL drew surely drew some criticism, including Cam Newton criticizing it on his show. It was undoubtedly overly ambitious and could have shaped his draft prospects quite drastically. But for the ones who had followed Ward’s journey from his high school to making it to the Heisman Finalist, they knew Cam Ward wasn’t bluffing.

For Cam Ward’s close friends and relatives, that’s how Cam Ward always was, and that attitude, along with immense hard work, has shaped him into the player he is today. “He’s always had confidence, a natural chip on his shoulder. It’s because he works hard. You could see that since when he was young,” Ward’s cousin Quandre Diggs said to ESPN. Despite his talent and hard work, Ward unfortunately didn’t get the recognition he deserved initially. So, what did the QB do?

Ward took that one FCS offer he got from Incarnate Word and pocketed it, with the determination that with hard work, it all should play out fine. The goal was always high for him, and with the help of his father, Calvin Ward, himself a former football player, Ward started rewriting the trajectory of his career. To do that, Cam’s father hired Darrell Colbert Jr., a former QB at SMU, to coach his son, and from then on, Cam’s talent exploded on the FBS scene.

“This is a kid who, since I’ve known him, has always believed that he would be in this situation,” said Colbert about the dedication and grit that Ward showed. The result? Washington State came calling, and later Miami. A team where Cam ultimately found his rhythm and passed for 4,000+ yards, sealing his fate as the first pick in the NFL draft. Now, months after the NFL Draft has ended, and the QB is thriving in the Titans’ offense, Ward looks back at his journey and remembers the role his father played.

Ward, in his recent press conference, talked about how his father inspired him throughout his journey and still does as he embarks on his first season as a rookie. “I’m just a big person on work. I said yesterday, sir, I’ve grown up, watch my dad wake up 4:30, doing the job he didn’t like. So now, if I can’t wake up early and do what I need to do for a job I do like, I shouldn’t be playing football. And that goes to everybody in the locker room…. I just think good things only come to those who work,” declared Cam Ward.

Cam Ward’s talent probably wasn’t quite sharpened in high school, and that was one of the reasons why he didn’t get much attention from the FBS teams. But with determination and with the help of his father, a feat that might have looked impossible for many became a reality. All in all, Ward’s journey is truly a testament to overcoming extreme odds and should be an inspiration for young kids aspiring to make it big in the footballing world. Now, despite bagging that $36 million contract and being touted to be the future of the Titans, Ward hasn’t forgotten his roots at all.

Cam Ward shares an emotional moment at his alma mater, Miami

Cam Ward has been doing well in the NFL ever since his draft selection and is touted to be a franchise reset QB for the Titans. The QB’s college stats, arm talent, and pocket presence surely make a strong case for him, and with some rookie experience in his bag, he surely will become QB1 quite soon. However, despite that change of scenery, he hasn’t forgotten his roots and recently went back to Miami, where a wholesome moment was captured.

In a recent video showing Ward’s Miami visit, the QB was seen in awe of his framed jersey hanging on the campus wall. “I didn’t know I had this. My mom had gotten my jersey frame, and it had that on there. I didn’t even know I had that. I just thought it was first-team ACC,” said Cam Ward in the video. The moment became even more special since Ward, at the time, also got to know that he had been unanimously voted as a true consensus First-Team All-ACC pick.

It was a moment truly fitting for the QB, who became the first zero-star recruit to be drafted as the first pick in the NFL draft. Moreover, this was just the start, and the expectations are sky high for him behind the Titans’ center. Also, with the hard work he has been putting in at training camps? It won’t be hard to predict his dominance against NFL teams’ defenses.