The final on-field image of Cam Ward as a college quarterback was his declining to play the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl for Miami after he set a Division I record for most career touchdown passes during the first half.

That topic was brought up to Ward on Monday night when he was in Fort Worth, Texas, to formally accept the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback. He bristled at the suggestion that he quit on the Hurricanes and doesn’t want to hear that line of questioning from any NFL team considering picking him near the top of the 2025 NFL Draft.

“OK, you’re either going to draft me or you’re not,” Ward told the Associated Press. “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.”

Ward tossed three touchdown passes in the first half against Iowa State to raise his career total to 158. Miami led 31-28 when Ward departed but eventually lost 42-41 to Iowa State.

Ward insists the only reason why his halftime departure is a big deal is because Miami lost the game.

“If we had won the game, they wouldn’t have said nothing,” Ward said. “And so that’s usually how it goes. And, you know, you just got to take it on the chin and just keep pushing.”

Perhaps Ward has a point since bowl games have become mostly meaningless in this era. But he did play in the first place — long enough to get the record.

Also, how he speaks about the situation can clue NFL teams in on how he will handle adverse questions, something that will be fired in his direction throughout his career.

The 2024 season was the lone one Ward played for Miami. He passed for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns against seven interceptions and finished fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting.

Ward played two seasons at FCS program Incarnate Word and two at Washington State before moving on to Miami.

Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders are the top two quarterbacks available in the 2025 draft.