Washington State football added elite quarterback Cameron Ward from the transfer portal and here are three thoughts on a game-changing move for the Cougars.
The Washington State football program went through plenty of ups and downs during the 2021 season, but despite having their head coach fired, the Cougars put together a solid season and advanced to the Sun Bowl.
Jake Dickert, who was the interim head coach, was given the title of permanent head coach after posting a slew of wins down the stretch and now, in his first full offseason as head coach, Dickert and Washington State football have made a major splash.
Even if some in the college football world don’t know it.
The 2022 transfer portal is loaded with talented quarterbacks and one of the most talented, perhaps the most talented is Cameron Ward — a quarterback some fans probably had never heard of until recently or at all.
But college football coaches all across the country knew about Ward. Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss had him in for a secret visit after he entered the portal and other big-time programs offered the standout from Incarnate Word.
Yet, Washington State football had an ace up its sleeve. Dickert hired Incarnate Word’s head coach Eric Morris to be the Cougars offensive coordinator and that proved to be the ticket to landing quite possibly the biggest sleeper in the 2022 transfer portal.
It’s been a while since Washington State football was truly relevant in the Pac-12 conference but it’s possible that will change with Ward and here are three thoughts on his addition.
A truly elite talent
It’s been a long time since Washington State football had a game-changing quarterback and the last one was probably Ryan Leaf back in the late 1990s.
Ward wasn’t a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school but part of it had to do with the run-heavy offense he was playing in. But after two years at Incarnate Word, it’s clear that Cameron Ward is an elite talent and some even suggested he was the top quarterback in the transfer portal.
“I’ve had FBS personnel tell me Cameron Ward is a ‘borderline generational talent,’” 247’s Chris Hummer said to Cougfan.com earlier this week.
Ward is ranked as the No. 4 quarterback in the transfer portal according to 247 sports with only Caleb Williams, Jaxson Dart, and Quinn Ewers rated ahead of him. So while he was unranked coming out of high school, he’s a high-ranking four-star which is the kind of quarterback Washington State football has rarely, if ever landed in recruiting.
The Cougars did sign Cammon Cooper who just left via the transfer portal to Hawaii, and he was a four-star but Ward is the kind of talent that not only can get drafted down the line but has a shot at contending in the 2022 Heisman Trophy race.
Gardner Minshew of course finished fifth in 2018, but that was the perfect combination of the Mike Leach offense and Minshew’s talent. Ward is a different QB, one that Cougars sincerely have not had in over 20 years.
No adjustment needed
Ward is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound quarterback who can do it all. He was one of the top freshmen quarterbacks in the FCS in 2020 and in 2021, he led the FCS in passing yards with 4,648 and 47 touchdown passes.
Incarnate Word wasn’t known at all for football but Eric Morris, a former Mike Leach disciple who coached under him at Washington State football transformed the program over the past four years and thanks to Cameron Ward, it was even able to win an FCS playoff game.
The playoff run ended against top-ranked Sam Houston State but Ward did all he could and threw for 481 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions in his final game.
Certainly, there is a difference between the FCS and FBS, but Cameron Ward isn’t your typical FCS quarterback. Morris was lucky to find him and now that he’s back as the Washington State offensive coordinator, it makes the addition of Ward even more exciting.
Ward isn’t going to have to learn a new offense or a new system. He already knows it and he’s the perfect quarterback for the air-raid offense Washington State wants to run.
The offense has some needs especially along the offensive line but there are some talented wideouts and with Ward, this offense is going to score points, a lot of them.
Cougs a dark-horse contender
Washington State football has been solid over the past decade or so. The Cougars have made bowl games in six of the past seven seasons and even won 11 games in 2018.
But since then, the program has started to fall off again. 2020 was a down year with just four games and 2021 started off rocky with head coach Nick Rolovich fired. Yet, Washington State football played really well under Dickert, and hiring him was a smart choice.
Wazzu beat Washington at the end of the season and despite a loss in the Sun Bowl, the Cougars have momentum — something they have in spades now that Cameron Ward has committed.
With a really solid defense expected back next season, and a majority of the players returning, as well as the possibility of having an elite offense with Ward at quarterback, the ceiling for Washington State football for next season is higher than it’s been in a long time.
The Cougars are already among the top-45 teams in terms of betting favorites for the national title and it’s all because of Cameron Ward.
And if he is who Washington State football and all the analysts believe him to be, Pullman is going to be a fun place to watch football over the next couple of years.