From doubted to no doubt: Hurricanes’ Cam Ward picked No. 1 overall in 2025 NFL Draft
Cam Ward didn’t have to wait too long on Thursday for his dream to become a reality.
Commissioner Roger Goodell walked to the stage at the start of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and delivered the news that has been expected for some time now but was finally reality.
“With the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans select Cameron Ward, quarterback, University of Miami.”
New Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi told reporters that the Titans made up their mind about three weeks ago that Ward was going to be their pick.
“I just think that if you identify a franchise quarterback, there’s really not a price you can pay for that in my mind,” Borgonzi said.
“We felt comfortable when we made that decision,” Borgonzi added. “The talent was there. I think the one thing that stood out to me when I first started watching him was — a lot of quarterbacks have great arm talent coming out — but the one thing that really stood out to me was really just his instincts and his processing ability, the spatial awareness he has on the field, his pocket awareness.”
Ward is just the third player in Miami Hurricanes history to be selected No. 1 overall, joining quarterback Vinny Testaverde (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1987) and defensive tackle Russell Maryland (Dallas Cowboys, 1991).
Meanwhile, Testaverde and Jim Kelly (No. 14 to the Buffalo Bills in 1983) were the only Hurricanes quarterbacks to ever be selected in the first round before Ward on Thursday.
And he is Miami’s first first-round at any position since 2021 when Jaelan Phillips went No. 18 to the Miami Dolphins and Greg Rousseau went No. 30 to the Bills.
“I thought I was their guy all along,” Ward told reporters after being selected. “I let the tape do a lot of the talking, but I think once they finally got to meet me face-to-face and watch film with me, it just helped my case.”
Ward cemented his spot as the draft’s top player with a breakout season in his lone year with the Hurricanes, which only came because he was projected to be a late-round pick if he had entered the draft last year and wanted to improve his draft stock.
After spending the first four seasons of his college career split between FCS-level Incarnate Word and Washington State, then of the Pac-12, Ward set the Hurricanes’ single-season school records for completions (305), passing yards (4,313), passing touchdowns (39) and completion percentage (67.2 percent) en route to being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
For his five-year college football career, Ward’s had 18,189 passing yards and 158 passing touchdowns — breaking Case Keenum’s record of 155 for most in a career at the Division I level — against 53 interceptions.
It all paid off in the end for Ward.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM.
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