The Tennessee Titans firmly believe rookie quarterback Cam Ward will continue to improve now that he's reached the NFL level. Why wouldn't they? That's all he's ever done. From a now-infamous zero-star recruit to the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, Ward's borderline obsession with chasing greatness was something the Titans identified throughout the pre-draft process.
It didn't happen overnight. North Texas head coach Eric Morris was the first to see potential in Ward after discovering him as a no-name recruit at a 2019 Incarnate Word throwing camp. The then-head coach at UIW convinced the strong-armed, raw quarterback to accept a scholarship to the program. Not that Ward really had alternative options.
Ward's journey really began there at Incarnate Word, an off-the-beaten-road program in San Antonio, Texas. Natural gifts were present, but Ward was nowhere near a complete prospect given his experience in the run-heavy "Wing-T" offense in high school, a circumstance that prevented the West Columbia native from having any resemblance to a normal recruiting process.
On a mission to familiarize ourselves with Ward's historical upward trajectory, Titan Sized recently spoke with Coach Morris.
"Cam Ward is like Patrick Mahomes at times"
Coach Morris and Incarnate Word offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich swiftly embarked on a journey to develop Ward from raw thrower of the football to technical assassin following his arrival on campus. While the world was struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic, coach Morris saw an opportunity for Ward to thrive behind the scenes in unnatural circumstances. It was a mere coincidence that paid dividends.
“Footwork was the biggest thing in the beginning," Coach Morris told Titan Sized. "I mean, he never had played in shotgun [formation] before. Somewhat fortunate for him, we didn’t play that fall [due to Covid]. We had six months of just practice. That was huge for his development. We really honed in on his footwork. He’s always had such a naturally gifted arm. He had just never really played in an offense out of the shotgun before. His feet were a little out of whack at times. It was about honing in on his footwork to start."
Even then, the natural gifts were evident as coach Morris and Leftwich focused on correcting the technical warts of Ward's skill set. The off-script magical ability that would eventually lead to Ward throwing for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns at Miami this past season was already revealing itself in spurts. It reminded Morris of Patrick Mahomes, who he helped recruit and coach at Texas Tech.
“Cam is like [Patrick] Mahomes at times,” Coach Morris continued. “He gets away with some things because he can drop his arm to crazy angles. He can do freakish things with his arm talent. We slowed everything down and built the mechanics from the ground up.”
"We were shocked by his development. That's what the great ones do."
Even with Ward’s footwork qualifying as a positive work-in-progress, there were still elements of the offense Ward had to master. In his own playing days, Morris played for legendary college football head coach Mike Leach at Texas Tech. As the head coach at UIW, Morris' playbook drew inspiration from Leach's "Air Raid" offense.
The Air Raid system is heavily reliant on quarterback and wide receiver chemistry. The "choice route" is a staple, requiring post-snap adjustments based on coverage. Asking a quarterback who was fresh out of the Wing-T offense to master the Air Raid was a tall task for a developmental project who had little-to-no experience reading coverage, but tall tasks have never prevented Ward from perfecting the challenge at hand.
Once again, Ward’s development benefited from adjusted guidelines due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"When Cam first started learning the offense, we weren’t allowed to do any 11-on-11 due to the pandemic," Coach Morris added. "The first two-to-three weeks after he arrived, we were practicing against air. That allowed him to mentally adjust to the game, call his reads out and see the [offense] in a slowed-down environment.
"We were eventually allowed to practice seven-on-seven, where Cam could practice [what he learned] against the shell of a defense. We started playing 11-on-11 nearly three months later. We were shocked by where he was [at that point]. Cam is also a kid like Patrick [Mahomes] who spends a ton of time in the meeting room. He asks great questions. His mom was a coach, so he’s been around that his entire life.
"He always wants more information. That’s what the great ones do. They don't sit back. He wants to be coached hard. He questions things. He wants as much knowledge as possible."
"He rips the seam better than any quarterback I've ever been around."
Titans head coach Brian Callahan is now tasked with crafting an offense that best takes advantage of Ward’s abilities. To Ward’s credit, he isn't shy about what he likes and doesn’t like. Mere moments after hearing his name called, the No. 1 overall quarterback asked Callahan to incorporate “Switch Verts” into the playbook.
Switch Verts is another staple play-call of the Air Raid offense. Ward’s request to incorporate the play into Tennessee’s playbook perfectly captures his maturation from raw project to master of whatever offensive system coach Morris put in front of him.
“He’s a big Four Verticals guy," Morris said. "He wants to push the ball down the field and show off his arm talent. He didn't have the opportunity to do that in high school. If you asked him right now, he likes Y-Cross, which is a staple in the Air Raid system. He’d have no hesitation [telling you what he likes]. He likes Four Verticals and Switch Verts.
"That [Switch Verts] was his best play. He was able to rip seams better than any QB I've ever been around. That’s something they didn’t really run at Miami [until he got there]. I thought Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson did a great job incorporating some of the things Cam really liked. He runs that [Four Verticals] better than any QB I’ve been around."
"Brian Callahan has a plan for Cam Ward."
The consistent year-to-year improvement is something Coach Callahan identified on tape, from Incarnate Word to Washington State, and finally, Miami. Having worked with quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Peyton Manning, Callahan knows what it's supposed to look like.
“You saw him get better every year, and that was the thing that I went back to,” Callahan recently told Albert Breer. “I watched this Miami season first. I went back and watched Washington State, and you see all the same things. You just don’t see them as much, and he had a little less talent around him. He had a little bit less line, so he had to do a little more. But he became more disciplined every year he played. His feet became better, his eyes became better, he became more consistently accurate. It was a pure maturation process, both off the field and on it.”
Morris isn't intimately familiar with Coach Callahan or his offense, but he felt extremely confident in the match between Callahan and Ward throughout private conversations with his star pupil throughout the pre-draft process.
"Cam expressed terrific confidence in Callahan during their pre-draft meetings," Morris told Titan Sized. "He felt like they had a connection, a real connection. Coach Callahan has a plan for Cam, a really good plan for him. Cam felt like they were on the same page. He didn’t feel like [the Titans] would try to restrict him or his playmaking [ability] in any way. They’ve expressed tremendous belief in Cam."
Callahan's plan comes with a vision. A vision that Ward will relentlessly pursue improvement like he did from Incarnate Word to Miami. The Titans fully expect history to repeat itself.