How best to sum up Cam Ward’s Miami Hurricanes debut vs Florida: ‘He’s ridiculous’

The hype is real.

Quarterback Cam Ward, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year who graced the Miami Hurricanes by choosing to play his final collegiate year at Miami instead of entering the NFL Draft, put the nation on notice Saturday by devouring the Florida Gators in one of the toughest venues imaginable.

“It was the best decision I made,’’ Ward said of coming to Miami. “I wanted to accomplish a lot in college.’’

The fifth-year senior has lifted the talent level surrounding him, the Canes are back in the college football conversation and Miami fans finally have more than hope.

Miami 41, Florida 17, with Ward completing 26 of 35 passes (74 percent) for 385 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception in front of a Ben Hill Griffin Stadium crowd of 90,544. He added three runs for 33 yards.

“I’m feeling good,’’ he said. “Body wise, shout out to the O-line. Preparation wise, this is the best prepared I’ve been since coming in to college. We’ve only been doing it a short amount of time. We’ve got to be able to handle success and focus on the next thing – take it step by step.”

What kind of statement did he make Saturday?

“I had to prove to myself, my 17, 18-year-old self [who] wanted to be an SEC quarterback in high school,” Ward said. “I feel grateful God put me in this position to play against an SEC team. It didn’t work out how I wanted early on, but He got a different plan for me. Things I had to go through personally recruiting wise led me to this moment around great teammates and a great coaching staff.

“I think we made more of a statement on physicality. The best thing we did this game is we were very physical in the trenches.’’

Ward, who transferred from Washington State, and before that from Incarnate Word, didn’t do it alone. He had an offensive line that kept him clean except for once in the final quarter, giving him plenty of time to scour the field and make excellent decisions. He appeared completely calm the few times he was pressured, misdirected the defense with sneaky eyes and then delivered bullseyes.

“We know we have a quarterback that is going to find his receivers,’’ left tackle Jalen Rivers said. “It might take 8-10 seconds, so we’ve got to keep blocking.’’

“Special, special guy,’’ UM coach Mario Cristobal said about Ward. “Yeah, he’s just scratching the surface. Really accurate, improvised, extended plays. Protection was great, albeit that one play, and he’s got a great connection with his receivers. Those guys are really tight.’’

His one interception to Gators linebacker Shemar James came on the second drive of the opening quarter. He said the lone sack was his fault. “A bad pocket move,’’ he said.

Suddenly, the tight ends, who were basically nonexistent last season, came alive with seven catches for 136 yards, led by Elijah Arroyo’s four catches for 89 yards. Cam McCormick, the only ninth-year player in college football, caught Ward’s first touchdown pass to culminate the first drive.

And last season’s 1,000–plus-yard slot receiver Xavier Restrepo continued his onslaught, catching seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. On one dazzling play on the first drive of the third quarter, Restrepo took a short pass, spun to evade a tackle and sprinted 40 yards down the left sideline.

“He’s ridiculous,’’ Restrepo said of Ward. “He’s amazing.’’

Late in the second quarter, Ward threw the 24-yard bullet to Restrepo, leaving safety Asa Turner and cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson bewildered on either side of Restrepo.

Ward hit Isaiah Horton five times for 70 yards, and made a jaw-dropping 23-yard touchdown pass to Jacolby George in the third quarter. On third-and-11, Ward rolled left, evaded pressure and threw a sizzling line drive to George in the back of the end zone.

“Me allowing to extend the play I feel is one of my best traits,” Ward said. “What I’ve gotten better at since last year is staying in the pocket more. Jacolby George is one of the best receivers in the country. …I’ve made plays like that before. It’s a routine play to me.’’

Cristobal replaced Ward with backup Reese Poffenbargar for UM’s final two offensive plays. Ward pleaded to Cristobal to let him stay in.

“Just so we could have me take that victory knee and run the [clock] out,’’ he said. “Him taking me out was a smart move. Coach Cristobal is one of the best coaches in the country.’’