Miami quarterback Cam Ward recently met with offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson to discuss the Hurricanes’ passing game and how it has performed in their first three games.
They covered many topics, but they didn’t mention 15,000 yards — a milestone Ward is close to reaching.
“I’d be surprised if he even knew, to be honest with you,” Dawson said.
Whether Ward knows about it or not, he is about to join a very exclusive group. The NCAA reports that only 12 players at any level — FBS, FCS, Division II, or Division III — have thrown for 15,000 yards in their careers. Ward needs just 89 more yards to reach that milestone, which could happen as soon as Saturday when the eighth-ranked Hurricanes (3-0) play against South Florida (2-1).
“Offensively, the quarterback is making it really go,” said USF coach Alex Golesh on Tuesday about Ward. “He’s really special. I mean, man, can make every throw on the field.
Moves around in the pocket extremely well. Really confident. You watch all three games and it’s a really, really confident young man. Without knowing him, it looks like he has incredible command of the offense.” The stats support this claim.
Ward is the first Miami quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in each of his first three games with the Hurricanes. He has 1,035 yards so far this season, despite sitting out most of the second half in Miami’s last two games. The only FBS quarterback with more yards this season is Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart, who has 1,172.
Ward’s 11 touchdown passes currently lead the nation, and he is considered one of the top candidates for the Heisman Trophy early in the season.
“The guy is restless,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “If it doesn’t have much to do with us winning and getting better, I don’t think he has any interest in it, frankly.
And it’s the right mentality. It’s the right thing to do. He’s got this window to play college football, and he came to Miami for a lot of reasons. One of them is winning — and proving also that he can help a program be a winner.”
So far, things are going very well.
Miami has won its games with scores of 41-17 (Florida), 56-9 (Florida A&M), and 62-0 (Ball State). The 159 points scored in three games is a school record, and last weekend’s 750 yards of offense against Ball State set another record.
Ward has already completed 24 passes of 20 yards or more this season — from just 89 attempts. He still pushes for more from himself and his team.
“We have to be more consistent,” Ward said. “We can’t have lulls on one play. Every play has to be a statement.”
He has made many statements in these first three games, with the Hurricanes looking like strong contenders 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 now 15,779 yards over 53 games at three different schools; he played parts of three seasons at UCF and has spent the last two years at Oklahoma.
Ward has played in 47 games after starting his career at FCS school Incarnate Word (throwing for 6,908 yards there) and then playing two years at Washington State (throwing for 6,968 yards). The 1,035 yards he has so far at Miami brings his career total to 14,911.
If they keep going at their current rates, both Gabriel and Ward could end this season with more passing yards than almost anyone in college football history.
They are still quite a bit behind Houston’s Case Keenum, who is recognized as the NCAA’s all-time leader with 19,217 yards, but they could realistically catch Hawaii’s Timmy Chang, who has 17,072 yards, ranking second on the NCAA list.
“He’s got blinders on, and he thinks about the next play and thinks about the next game when that one’s over with,” Dawson said. “He’s one of those guys that are resilient. He tends not to care about those things.”
