Miami’s Cam Ward warns NFL teams, ‘If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault’
In this era of college football a Heisman Trophy finalist bailing on his team, with the blessing from his coach, to sit the second half of a postseason football game named after breakfast junk food “works.”
The detail will eventually become a fragment of a sentence on his resume, but at the moment the winner of Davey O’ Brien Award is also the guy known for having quit during the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
For the second consecutive year the winner of college football’s highest honor at quarterback effectively checked out on his team during bowl season, and it will have 0.0 impact on where he is selected in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Miami’s Cam Ward was the top college quarterback in 2024, and on Monday evening he was in his brand new tuxedo to accept the Davey O’ Brien Award at the Fort Worth Club.
The native of West Columbia, Texas and former QB at Incarnate Word explained “his side” of the Pop-Tarts story, before NFL teams officially start asking, “So, why’d you quit on your team?”
“If I could do it again, I’ll do it the same way. I piss off even more (people),” Ward told the Star-Telegram and one reporter from the Associated Press. “(People’s reaction) really doesn’t mean anything to me.”
He comes across as a bright young man who has life, and career, ahead of him.
Ward’s bowl decision is a symptom of a system that badly needs structure and guidelines. Ward made a business decision, but make no mistake: He also quit.
On Dec. 18, 2024, Ward’s No. 13 Miami Hurricanes led No. 18 Iowa State 31-28 at the half in Orlando. In the first half, Ward completed 12-of-19 passes for 190 yards with three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Those three TD passes gave Ward the NCAA career record.
With Ward on the sidelines in the second half, Miami lost, 42-41.
“It was a predetermined decision with the coaching staff and myself,” he said. “I just think we all got what we needed out of it. They saw the things that they think they need to work on for this season coming up. They also knew what I had on the line.
“It was a hard decision, especially when some guys on our team didn’t play who I thought should have played. Those guys thought about their future the same way I thought about mine. We all loved each other. I wish we had won. If we won the game, they wouldn’t have said anything. That’s usually how it goes.”
In the hallowed history of the Pop-Tarts bowl, Ward was the rare instance of a player upstaging the mascot, or anything related to the pastry-infused celebration of the game itself. It was a highly entertaining game, but Ward’s decision was the topic of conversation.
He did not talk to reporters after the game, and Miami head coach Mario Cristobal would only say the idea that his QB quit on his team was “a false narrative.”
To the NFL teams who say “Cam quit,” he said, “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You gotta remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career. And I remember that. I don’t forget anything. A lot of stuff stays in my mind, even when I try to push it out, it’ll never go away from some reason.
“A lot of it’s motivating, I just think that that’s why I’ll end up being one of the best quarterbacks in the league.”
Just like any other power coach these days who wants to keep their six and seven figure check, Cristobal is beholden to the desires and whims of the players who are now eligible to make money, and leave whenever they want.
A player avoiding a postseason game that is not affiliated with the college football playoff invitational is no longer a surprise. We are all collectively numb to “Opt outs.”
Miami was one of the hard cuts from the new, 12-team postseason format. Had the Hurricanes been selected for an at large bid, Ward would have played the entire game.
Ward “opting in” to play the Pop-Tarts bowl was a pleasant surprise. Ward opting out of the second half was the disturbing development. We hadn’t seen that one.
Last year, LSU quarterback and O’ Brien winner Jayden Daniels became the first winner of the Heisman Trophy not to play in his team’s postseason game.
Daniels’ reasoning was that it was Garrett Nussmeier’s turn to start at QB for the Tigers. What Daniels meant to say was, “I’m not threatening my draft status for the Reliaquest Bowl.”
His decision had zero bearing on his draft status. Daniels was the second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, and in his rookie year he led Washington to the NFC title game.
Until there are real contracts in place for the players where there are financial penalties for “opting out,” these random exists will continue.
His performances in his time at both Washington State, and for The U, in “games that matter” will influence where he is picked more than what he didn’t do in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
His decision in the 2024 Pop-Tarts says more about the state of college football than it does Cam Ward.
But don’t kid yourself, Cam Ward quit. It just won’t matter.
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 5:45 PM.
