Miami quarterback Cam Ward spent some time in offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson’s office earlier this week, going over the Hurricanes’ passing game and how it has played out over the three games.
They talked about a lot of things. But they didn’t talk about the 15,000 yards – a milestone Ward is close to reaching.
“To be honest, I would be surprised if he even knew,” Dawson said.
Whether Ward knows it or not, he’s about to join a very small club. According to the NCAA, only 12 players at any level – FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III or any combination thereof – have thrown for 15,000 yards in their careers. Ward is 89 yards shy of that mark, and he could reach it as soon as Saturday when the No. 8-ranked Hurricanes (3-0) visit South Florida (2-1).
“Offensively, the quarterback is really going to make it big,” USF coach Alex Golesh said of Ward on Tuesday. “He’s really special. I mean, man, he makes every throw on the field. Moves extremely well in the pocket. Really confident. If you watch all three games, that’s a really, really confident young man. Without knowing him, he seems to have an incredible command of the offense.”
The numbers prove this.
Ward is the first Miami quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in each of his first three games as a Hurricane. He has 1,035 yards so far this season, and that’s despite sitting out most of the second half of Miami’s last two games. The only FBS quarterback with more yards this season is Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart, who has thrown for 1,172 yards.
Ward’s 11 touchdown passes so far lead the nation, and he is well among the leaders in the far-too-early Heisman Trophy predictions.
“The guy is restless,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “If it doesn’t have a lot to do with us winning and getting better, I honestly don’t think he’s interested. And it’s the right attitude. It’s the right thing to do. He has this opportunity to play college football, and he came to Miami for a lot of reasons. One of them is to win — and also to prove that he can help a program be successful.”
So far, so good. Very good, in fact.
Miami has victories of 41-17 (Florida), 56-9 (Florida A&M) and 62-0 (Ball State). The 159 points in three games is a school record, and the 750 yards of offense last weekend against Ball State was another record.
Ward has already completed 24 passes of 20 yards or more this season – on just 89 attempts. And he still demands more, both from himself and his team.
“We have to be more consistent,” Ward said. “We can’t afford to have a lull in a game. Every game has to be a statement.”
He has made many clear statements in the first three games and the Hurricanes are considered clear favorites in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The only active quarterback with more than 15,000 passing yards is Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, whose career total is 15,779 in 53 games at three different schools; he spent parts of three seasons at UCF and the last two years at Oklahoma.
Ward has appeared in 47 games after spending the first two years at FCS member Incarnate Word (where he threw for 6,908 yards) and the last two years at Washington State (where he threw for 6,968 yards). The 1,035 yards so far at Miami have brought his career total to 14,911.
If they maintain their current pace, both Gabriel and Ward could finish this season with more passing yards than nearly any other player in college football history. They’re still a long way from Houston’s Case Keenum — he’s considered the NCAA’s all-time leader with 19,217 yards — but realistically they could catch Hawaii’s Timmy Chang, who ranks second on the NCAA list with 17,072 yards.
“He has blinders on and is thinking about the next play and the next game when this is over,” Dawson said. “He’s one of those guys who is resilient. He doesn’t usually worry about that kind of thing.”
