A Memorable Debut
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was a play that seemed to capture the essence of the day.
With his Hurricanes already holding a three-touchdown lead at an increasingly quiet Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Miami quarterback Cam Ward scrambled, spun, and once fully out of the grip of Florida edge rusher T.J. Searcy, threw a dart to the back of the end zone.
There, 23 yards away, receiver Jacolby George made the grab and added to Miami’s lead.
George turned to the crowd, brought his arms together to mimic Florida’s recognizable chomp, and the Hurricanes fans who made their way to Gainesville celebrated wildly.
Ward, for his part, called it a “routine play.”
Most who watched it – and Miami’s eventual 41-17 win over rival Florida – would beg to disagree and the play seemingly encapsulated everything Ward has shown the 19th-ranked Hurricanes since arriving in Coral Gables earlier this year.
The quarterback, a transfer from Washington State who was named the ACC Preseason Player of the Year and has added his name to the watch lists for several of college football’s biggest awards, completed 26 of 35 passes in his first game as a Hurricane.
He totaled 385 passing yards and, according to the Associated Press, is the first Miami quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in his first Hurricanes start since at least 1979.
Ward also had three touchdowns and more than once, extended plays with his elusiveness and speed. He finished the day with 33 rushing yards, too.
“Yeah, he’s not bad. Special, special guy,” Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said.
“He’s ridiculous. He’s amazing,” Miami receiver Xavier Restrepo added.
“He is the best quarterback in the country,” Hurricanes defensive back Meesh Powell said.
Still, despite the impressive numbers and the effusive praise from teammates and coaches, Ward left Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night already turning his focus to next week’s home opener against Florida A&M.
“We’re going to celebrate this from [now] until we get to that plane ride soon,” Ward said. “When we land back in Miami, we’re on to FAMU. That’s just how I am as a person. That’s how we are as a team. That’s how we’re going to continue to be as a team and just stick to it day-by-day and take it one step at a time.”
That mentality, that approach has helped Ward emerge quickly as one of the Hurricanes’ go-to leaders, despite his short time on campus.
He’s made it a point to spend as much time as possible with Miami’s receivers, perfecting timing and building chemistry. He’s taken the Hurricanes’ offensive line to dinner. And he’s a regular at the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility.
And on Saturday, before the Hurricanes left their hotel, it was Ward who brought the team together and delivered an impassioned pre-game message.
All of that, the Hurricanes say, is just as important as what he can do for them on the field.
“He just loves to compete. Every team has a spark plug. Every game has a spark plug. He and a couple of those other guys, but him particularly, was the guy today,” Cristobal said. “We’re starting to look like Miami in a lot of different respects. It showed in practice that he’s going to play big and strong today.”
Added Restrepo, “I mean, I don’t think there’s been a day at the University of Miami where he hasn’t said something. So, I mean, we kind of look to him. He’s a great leader and his actions follow it. … We have, again, so much respect for Cam.”
That respect is mutual.
After Saturday’s win, Ward praised the receivers who caught his passes, the offensive linemen who provided him with plenty of time and protection and the backs who made big plays.
And when the Hurricanes made one of their few offensive mistakes – a first-quarter interception Ward threw that led to a Florida field goal and pulled the Gators within 7-3 – there was no talk of the play on the sideline or in the huddle.
The quarterback’s poise set the tone.
“We didn’t let that faze us,” Restrepo said. “He didn’t even mention it.”
Ward wasn’t the only member of Miami’s offense to turn in a big performance Saturday.
In all, the Hurricanes finished with 529 yards of offense, the most they’ve had against an SEC opponent since 1983, when they had 542 yards against Vanderbilt. They also scored on five of six red-zone opportunities and totaled 25 first downs.
Restrepo, who last season set a single-season Miami record with 85 catches for 1,092 yards, had seven catches for a game-high 112 yards and moved into 12th place on Miami’s all-time receiving yards list.
Tight end Elijah Arroyo who has endured his share of injury woes over the course of the last two seasons, added a career-high four catches for 89 yards. And receiver Isaiah Horton had five catches for a career-high 70 yards.
In all, 10 different Miami receivers caught passes on Saturday, while the Hurricanes added another 144 rushing yards, led by Damien Martinez, who had 65 of those.
It was an offensive performance that helped give the Hurricanes their first win in Gainesville since 2002 and gave Florida its first loss in a home opener since 1989.
Now, though, Ward and the rest of the offense will turn their focus to the season that remains.
“We’ve got to be able to handle success and really just be able to focus on the next thing,” he said. “Don’t necessarily look to the past and the future but continue to take it step-by-step.”
