Ward shows off arm at Miami pro day; Now Titans decide if he's worth No. 1 pick

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward had a message for the Tennessee Titans on Monday.

“I'm solidifying it today,” he said.

‘It’ would be the No. 1 pick in next month's NFL draft. In a month, the now-former Miami Hurricanes quarterback will find out if that is indeed the case.

Knowing all eyes in the building were on him, Ward went through his entire repertoire of throws in a 45-minute session with representatives from all 32 NFL teams watching at Miami's pro day: short, deep, slants, sideline routes, even some sidearm ones.

And the last play was a trick one — he caught a touchdown pass from receiver Xavier Restrepo, a play that Ward drew up himself to have some fun.

Ward put on a show. The ball is in Tennessee's court now, as holders of the No. 1 overall pick.

“They finally got to see me throw in person. That should be all they need to see," Ward said. "At the end of the day, if they want to give me the pick or not, I’m going to be happy with whatever team I go to. I just want to play football.”

Ward was the closing act at Miami's pro day, with expectations growing that the Heisman Trophy finalist who rewrote the Hurricanes' record book last season could be the first overall pick when the draft starts April 24.

Pro day was the first time Ward had thrown publicly since his college finale, a first-half appearance for Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl back in December. He didn't throw at the NFL Combine last month, saying he wanted to wait until Miami's pro day where he could throw to “the best receiving corps in the country.”

“He's one of one,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said.

But will he be No. 1?

That's up to the Titans to decide.

Tennessee sent what seemed like the entire front office to watch Ward. The list included football operations president Chad Brinker, head coach Brian Callahan, general manager Mike Borgonzi, assistant general manager Dave Ziegler, vice president and football advisor Reggie McKenzie, offensive coordinator Nick Holz and quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree.

Ward was even chatting with some of the Titans' staff between throws, smiling as he walked away after dropping the “I'm solidifying it today” comment. He had more conversations with some members of the Titans' contingent when the workout was over as well.

“I'm just excited to see where I'm going to end up, so I can finally learn the playbook,” Ward said.

Ward ended his college career with a Division I (FBS and FCS level) record 158 touchdown passes. His total of 18,189 passing yards — 6,908 at Incarnate Word, 6,968 at Washington State and 4,313 at Miami — is third-most in NCAA history behind only Case Keenum and Dillon Gabriel.

He rewrote Miami’s record book in 2024, his lone season with the Hurricanes. He left the school as Miami’s single-season leader in yards, completions (305), touchdown passes (39) and completion percentage both for a season and a career at 67.2%.

Ward's rise was meteoric throughout college. He went to Incarnate Word as a zero-star recruit and wound up as the Atlantic Coast Conference's offensive player of the year, an AP All-American — and quite possibly the No. 1 pick.

“Now the whole world's looking at me,” Ward said.

Ward, barring something very surprising, would be the first Miami player taken in the first round of an NFL draft since Jaelan Phillips went 18th and Greg Rousseau went 30th in 2021. Ward would also be Miami’s first offensive player taken in a first round since tight end David Njoku in 2017 and could be Miami’s third No. 1 overall pick — joining quarterback Vinny Testaverde in 1987 and defensive lineman Russell Maryland in 1991.

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