The #19 Miami Hurricanes of the ACC handily defeated the SEC’s Florida Gators 41-17 in a highly anticipated in-state matchup for the opening weekend of college football. New Miami quarterback, Cam Ward, led the way with 385 yards passing, three touchdowns, and an insignificant interception.
Ward, who is in his third season of college football, previously played two seasons with Washington State in the Pac-12. His decision to transfer to a more high-profile conference and school was made in hopes that it would boost his chances of being an NFL Draft pick when his college career is over.
After the game, he certainly sounded like a quarterback that is not lacking in confidence.
Miami Hurricanes Quarterback Cam Ward Calls Out Florida Gators Fans After the Game
In his press conference following Miami’s dominating victory over the Gators, Ward called out Florida fans for being too quiet at the wrong times:
“Advice to the fans: If you’re going to be loud, you have to be loud when we’re huddling. You can’t just be loud once we break the huddle. By that time, it’s no point. We hear the play and we’ve communicated already.”
He doubled down on his criticism of Gator fans, saying, “I played at USC. USC wasn’t packed, but it was louder than this. I played at Oregon and it was louder than this. The Pac-12 gets misspoken for. The Pac-12, that’s where I believe real football is played. Washington was one of the loudest environments I’ve played [in].”
As mentioned, Ward previously played at Washington State, where he faced some of the harshest fanbases on the West Coast. Hopefully that has prepared him for the ACC fanbases.
Florida may not be the best metric by which to judge the loudness of SEC fanbases.
Miami Hurricanes Quarterback Cam Ward Thrived at Washington State
Ward became the Washington State starter in his sophomore season and was an instant success. He 64.4% of his passes for 3,232 yards, 23 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He also recorded five rushing touchdowns.
Last season, he was even better, completing 66.6% of his passes for 3,736 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also added eight rushing touchdowns.
After the 2023 season, Ward flirted with the idea of entering the 2024 NFL Draft. However, he chose instead to transfer to Miami and hopefully boost his draft stock.
Quarterbacks taken in this year’s NFL Draft included Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and JJ McCarthy. Ward would not have been seen in the same vein as those high-profile players had he declared for the draft last year.
He is hopeful that a good season at Miami can put him near the top of the quarterback class next year.
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