Alex Donno explains why Miami's Cam Ward will be one of the most impactful transfer players in the country.
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00:00 If you look at the impact guys Miami has landed in the transfer portal and the ones that I expect
00:04 to have the biggest impact, my top five in order. And you guys tell me if I disrespected any of
00:10 these, if I left anybody off my list that you think should be on the list. No question in my
00:15 mind, the most impactful transfer Miami has made is former Washington State standout quarterback,
00:22 over 3,700 passing yards last year, 25 touchdowns, seven interceptions. Cam Ward,
00:28 he is going to be the key to unlocking all of this. In fact, with all the rest of the work
00:33 that Miami's done in the portal, with how aggressive they just were in the spring,
00:36 I don't believe they would have been that aggressive to try to find proven starters
00:41 and rotational players at other positions if they weren't so bullish on Ward. I believe Miami
00:48 coaches internally really think Ward is going to be something special this year. And that's why
00:53 they're going all in to try to surround him with the most experienced possible talent to try and
00:58 maximize the one and only season that he has in orange and green. But yes, Ward, if you look at
01:05 the type of impact he can have at Miami, Hurricanes have not been that blessed overall at the
01:10 quarterback position for the last 20 years. You did get some really good stuff out of Brad Kaya.
01:15 You definitely had some flashes a couple of years ago with Tyler Van Dyke, but the interceptions
01:22 and the inconsistencies really held him back and held the team back. Obviously my guy, Malik Rozier,
01:28 had a really good run, short, sweet run during the 2017 season. You look at what Cam Ward can be,
01:36 potentially the most impactful quarterback at Miami, maybe at least since Brock Berlin,
01:41 who won double digit games a couple of times. Obviously Ken Dorsey was the conductor of the
01:48 orchestra of the greatest college football team of all time back in 2001. So Ward, I think, can be
01:54 the most impactful Miami has had in almost 20 years when it comes to just that quarterback
01:59 position. He's got the ability to improvise and make plays like a D'Eric King, who Miami had a
02:07 good season from a few years ago. The first year, the second year he got hurt, then it became the
02:10 Tyler Van Dyke show. But Cam Ward, he's got some tools that King did not have. He's got better
02:17 size. He's got a stronger arm. D'Eric King did not have some of those gifts where Cam Ward is a true
02:24 NFL prospect. He's going to be an NFL quarterback a year from now. He's going to get drafted,
02:29 depends on how high, but he will be drafted. Obviously with D'Eric King, he did not have
02:33 that sort of NFL future. So Ward really already having prerequisite knowledge of this sort of
02:41 an offense, Shannon Dawson, not pure air raids, but he comes from that Halle Mummy, Mike Leach
02:49 coaching tree that has been the tree of every coach in OC that Cam Ward has worked with to this
02:54 point, going back to incarnate word, going back to his high school days, going back to Washington
02:59 state these last couple of years. He's already got prerequisite knowledge and fit within this
03:04 type of an offense. He's going to have offensive line talent at Miami that he did not have at
03:09 Washington state. That was a weak point of that football team. Ward was able to pull off some
03:14 magic and improvise within that offense in a way. Obviously he can still do that at Miami,
03:19 but he's not going to be running for his life nearly as much. And Ward also has the blessing
03:25 here at the university of Miami of having the most productive returning receiving core in the ACC.
03:32 We've talked about this before on locked on canes. We've dropped this stat on you.
03:37 No other team in the ACC has three returning receivers who had at least 800 receiving yards,
03:42 heck even at least 500 receiving yards a piece last year. Miami's got three guys who were all
03:48 over 800 a year ago with Sam Brown, who came in through the transfer portal, Jacoby George,
03:53 who had nearly 900 receiving yards last year and Xavier Restrepo who had over a thousand last year.
03:58 I also believe Miami has an ascending tight end room, which is going to aid Ward in his
04:03 quest to have his best year. Hopefully win some stuff down here in Miami raises NFL stock.
04:09 Cam Ward to me, not only is he the most impactful transfer on the Miami hurricanes football team,
04:14 I think he's going to be the most impactful transfer in the ACC.
04:17 And he's going to be in that conversation around the country.