Cam Ward already sounds like a seasoned leader with Tennessee Titans
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Cam Ward is showing up to the Tennessee Titans’ facility every morning at 5 a.m. local time to watch film. Teammates are welcome to join. And coaches are reportedly having to kick him out of the building at night.
“I’ve grown up watching my dad wake up at 4:30 doing a job he didn’t like,” Ward said this week. “So if I can’t wake up early and do what I need to do for a job I do like, I shouldn’t be playing football. And that goes for everybody in the locker room. If you can’t have the expectation for yourself that you want to be either a good or great player, and want to put the work in… I just think good things only come to those who work.”
Though a rookie going through his first camp with his new teammates, Ward already sounds like a seasoned veteran NFL leader.
He walks the walk, too, which only lends credibility to his words. The Texas native was a no-star recruit coming out of high school. He started his college career at the FCS level, made a name for himself at Washington State, and then fueled a College Football Playoff push with a Heisman Trophy-caliber campaign at Miami.
The Titans took him first overall in this year’s NFL Draft and the juxtaposition between Ward and some of his peers on draft night couldn’t have been more illustrative. ESPN was heavily criticized for spending little time on Ward and instead talking about Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, even as Ward was being selected.
Ward and Sanders trained together leading up to the draft, and one of their sessions together was filmed and posted online for all to see. At one point, Sanders tried to get Ward to open up about his outside hobbies. He petitioned Ward to create a song with him.
“I just play football,” Ward responded. “I want people to know me as a football player. They search ‘Cam Ward’ and it says American Football.”
RELATED: Ward is the co-favorite to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award this season. Bet365 has Ward priced at +275. Tennessee residents who want to back their new quarterback can use this bet365 Tennessee bonus code to score a sweet sign-up bonus when they get started.
Fast forward 5 months and Ward is still in the exact same headspace.
“I just think we’re very mid right now,” Ward said of the Titans’ offense on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, it all starts with me.”
Tennessee struggled heavily last season. The Titans went 3-14 and scored more than 20 points in a game only 4 times. Their 18.3 points-per-game average ranked 27th out of 32 teams. Nearly 17% of all Tennessee possessions ended in a turnover, the highest percentage in the NFL. Only 2 clubs averaged fewer yards per offensive possession than Tennessee.
Ward won’t have it easy, but that’s why he’s in Tennessee.
“It’s just sort of how he’s wired,” head coach Brian Callahan said. “I feel really good about how he’ll respond to any negativity in general.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
