With a five-second video and 14 words on the first day of 2024, former Cougar quarterback Cam Ward announced his intentions to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft.
“What’s up? It’s Cam Ward and I’ll be declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft,” Ward said in a Monday video posted to his social media accounts.
In a Dec. 1 social media post, Ward said that he would enter the transfer portal as a grad transfer and evaluate entering the NFL draft.
Brock Huard, former University of Washington QB and current Seattle Sports radio analyst said on his Nov. 28 show that Ward had Name, Image and Likeness offers over $1 million from 10 schools.
“Let’s just say I heard from one source, and a pretty dialed-in one, that Cam Ward… has 10 seven-figure deals waiting for him,” Huard said during his Nov. 28 show, Brock and Salk. “He has 10 different deals from around the country that will pay him seven figures to come be their quarterback.”
As the weeks of December flew by, the transfer portal QB carousel replaced a slew of one-sided bowl games as the most interesting thing in college football after the conference championships.
Ward did not transfer to either of WSU’s Big Ten-bound rivals.
Will Rogers, who in four years at Mississippi State racked up the second-most yards in SEC history, committed to UW.
Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel and UCLA’s Dante Moore committed to Oregon.
Ward visited Miami (FL.) and Florida State University. Between visits, Ward visited his elementary school in Texas, signed autographs, and spent time with a fourth-grade class that sent him good luck videos throughout the season.
Ward’s father told ESPN reporter Pete Thamel that Ward would not immediately sign with an agent, but would begin training for the draft immediately with QB Collective coach Will Hewlett.
Ward passed for 3,735 yards with 25 touchdowns to seven interceptions in 2023. Despite sustaining 38 sacks, Ward exhibited spectacular pocket presence, consistently evading pressure, scrambling around the field and making accurate throws.
Ward was a zero-star prospect out of high school but landed the starting job at Incarnate Word in 2020. In his sophomore year, Ward passed for a career-high 4,648 yards with 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
In 2022, he transferred to WSU in head coach Jake Dickert’s first full season at the helm.
In two seasons at WSU he passed for 6,966 yards and 48 TDs (each seventh-best in program history).
In four collegiate seasons, two each at IWU and WSU, Ward completed 64.5% of his passes for 13,874 yards, 119 TDs and 30 interceptions.
At 21 years old (22 by the start of the NFL season), Ward is one of the youngest QBs in the draft.
