Cam Ward gives thanks to dad, who drove him all over Texas to help him reach his dreams

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The smile on Cameron Ward's face said it all when asked what he wanted to get his dad, Calvin, for Father's Day.

"Shopping for Father's Day, that's the hardest shopping to do," Ward told ESPN. "I mean what do you get for someone who already has everything? I don't know what I'm going to get him, because he ain't really ask for s---."

Having already paid to have his parents' house built last year when he was in college at Miami, Ward struggled to come up with a physical gift for his dad. He laughed as he recalled gifting his dad an ATV for Christmas years ago, when his mom, Patrice, had gotten him a mini NASCAR race track.

Then the perfect idea came to mind.

"I just really want to spend time with him," Ward said.

Time. That's the best gift he could give.

The Tennessee Titans made Ward the No. 1 pick in April, hoping he could become the answer at quarterback that they had been searching for. He attributes his journey to his parents, with sports being a staple in their household.

"I just always had sports around me," Ward said. "I come from a sports background with my dad and my mom. I just always wanted to play professional sports. I think that was just my calling."

The Ward family, a close-knit group of five, has bonded on many trips -- loading up the SUV and hitting the road to attend various sports camps. They started by going to camps at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, when Cameron was in fourth grade. He tagged along with his two older sisters, Aaliyah and Chantel, who were basketball players.

Calvin supported his son as he played various sports such as basketball, football, baseball and even golf, but having been a former walk-on college quarterback at Houston, Calvin taught his son the sport he knew best when Cameron was 8 years old -- setting up nets in the backyard to throw into.

"Cameron fell in love with the workouts," Calvin said. "From a young age he was always like, 'I want to be a professional athlete in something.' My philosophy was always to play as many sports as you want. The road would eventually narrow on its own."

THE PROCESS OF getting noticed by colleges wasn't easy, but Cameron leaned on his dad throughout his playing days at West Columbia High School, which is about an hour outside of Houston.

Playing in a run-heavy Wing T offense limited his passing opportunities, as he attempted 267 passes for 2,261 yards in three years. To put that into perspective, Hudson Card -- the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the state for the 2020 class according to the ESPN 300 (No. 40 overall) -- attempted 216 passes in nine games during his senior year, according to Max Preps, and 369 passes in 15 games as a junior.

Calvin emailed college coaches during his son's junior year in hopes of getting the zero-star recruit his first offer. He sought out other parents whose kids went to the NFL for advice on how to get more exposure.

He did not want to be a parent who felt his son was better than everyone else, so he focused on getting feedback to make his son better.

"I trusted the parents that I talked to that might have had kids that been through [this]," Calvin said, "[telling them], 'I need you to be realistic about my son. He wants to play on a higher level. I don't need you to sugarcoat anything with me.'"

Some of the feedback was to work on his footwork by incorporating jump ropes into his drills. They also worked on agility.

"It wasn't so much about chasing a scholarship per se, it was just chasing improvement," Calvin said.

They also took road trips to football camps in hopes of getting Cameron on the radar of colleges. One of those trips called for a 3 a.m. wake-up to leave by 5 a.m. for a six-hour ride to East Texas Baptist University, only to return home the same day.

"That's impressive dedication to helping his son," Titans coach Brian Callahan said of Calvin chauffeuring his son across Texas just to give him a chance to be noticed.

During those road trips, they talked about more than just life. Even though they didn't like the same music genres, they found common ground by listening to local radio stations. The trips provided opportunities for Cameron to ask about his grandparents and what life was like growing up for his dad, so Calvin shared his insight.

"My parents was like, 'Hey, we don't care about football, basketball or whatever. You better get them grades,'" Calvin said.

"These are things I want to put in your life because these are things I wanted to do as a kid that I didn't get to do."

That's one reason why it was important for Calvin to make sure his son got to attend as many camps as possible.

"I'm going to knock on every door, and you know, eventually one of these doors going to open," Calvin said.

An eye-opening weekend came when they drove just over two hours to College Station for Texas A&M's camp. A&M was Cameron's preferred school, so his dad made sure to get him there.

He got to compete with several high-profile quarterbacks -- including four-star prospect Haynes King from Longview High School in Texas, who was ranked No. 46 in the ESPN 300 for the 2020 class. He would go on to commit to the Aggies.

"Everyone knew that Cameron out-threw all of those guys," Calvin said. "But King won state championship his junior year and then you had Cameron Ward that don't nobody knew of and you got one scholarship. So who do you think a scholarship's going to go to?"

The journey continued the next day when they drove to San Antonio for Incarnate Word's satellite camp. According to Calvin, the camp started at 1 p.m. but the coaching staff "shut it down at 2 p.m." because the school's offensive coordinator, Mack Leftwich, wanted to hide his future quarterback from other schools that had access to the camp.

"I'm like, 'What the heck is going on?'" Calvin recalled. "It took us three and a half hours to drive there. They didn't want no other schools to see Cameron because they picked up how his arm talent was different."

The final straw came when Cameron drove a pass from the opposite hash marks to a receiver running a comeback route toward the sideline. Leftwich told the Ward family they ended the camp because they were nervous that he "wouldn't be available" after other schools saw him throw.

"Cameron looked at me and was like, 'What is he talking about? We're not hearing from anyone,'" Calvin said with a laugh.

The trip was worth it. Cameron got an offer from Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris, and he would end up there for the 2020 season to begin his college career.

CAMERON SHOWED PROMISE early at Incarnate Word, where he won the Jerry Rice Award given to the most outstanding freshman in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He followed that up with 4,648 passing yards, 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a sophomore and was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Now schools that ignored him coming out of high school were showing interest.

"OK, dude, we have options we ain't had before," Calvin told his son. "Let's be patient and check some of these out."

But they remained loyal, and Cameron followed Morris to Washington State for his junior year in 2022 before eventually ending up at Miami for his final season.

It was a big decision given that Incarnate Word was within driving distance from the Ward family's home.

Now, Calvin had to drive a little over an hour to Houston Hobby Airport before even hopping on a plane to see his son play, but Cameron's parents never missed seeing him play.

"All 57 games," Calvin said when asked how many of Cameron's games they attended, which included 25 with Washington State and 13 more with Miami.

Calvin feels one of Cameron's biggest tests came before the 2023 season when Morris left Washington State to take over as the head coach at North Texas.

"That was the year that made him," Calvin said. "Because the whole narrative was that he was a product of Eric Morris' system."

Without Morris, Cameron wanted to prove he was a premier quarterback regardless of what offense he was playing in.

"OK, guess what? Morris is gone now," Calvin said. "Your system is gone now. Now it's Cameron Ward."

The future No. 1 pick completed 66% of his passes for 3,736 yards, 25 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, which set up another big decision: declare for the NFL draft or play another season of college football?

WITNESSING NFL COMMISSIONER Roger Goodell calling his son's name on draft day was easily Calvin's proudest moment.

"Cameron going No. 1, that's still surreal to me, knowing how he got there," Calvin said. "It was like a dream knowing your son is the No. 1 quarterback."

It also sets up what Cameron said is the best advice he has gotten from his dad who told him this is his one opportunity to play in the NFL and "not to f--- it up."

"[My dad] wouldn't let me take no for an answer," Cameron said. "That's what kept me steady throughout the whole process knowing that I'll eventually get an offer, but he just constantly motivated me. He constantly told me the journey is never going to be easy."

When Cameron contemplated going pro after his fourth year in college, he leaned on his dad -- who advised him to not hire an agent so there was no confusion concerning his eligibility.

"My parents really let me make my own decisions," Cameron said. "But they give me different angles to look at it. They see it from their point of view then they also got to see it from the other person's point of view as well."

He decided to forego the draft to better his stock for 2025 before transferring to Miami.

He made a big statement in his debut with the Hurricanes, throwing for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-17 win over one of their biggest rivals, and Calvin loved every bit of it.

"That Florida game," Calvin said, "all the talk -- 'Oh, he hasn't played in this size of a stadium' -- they didn't know what was [about] to hit them because they didn't know him. He doesn't care about all of that. Cameron just wants to go play football."

Cameron passed for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns last season -- both Miami single-season records. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback, and finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. He set the career combined FCS (71) and FBS (87) record with 158 touchdown passes. The performance helped cement him as the top quarterback in the draft.

"His journey I think is really unique and cool," Callahan said. "A lot of it comes from how he was raised. All the things you see from his parents trying to pour into him and give him all the opportunities to succeed I think is admirable, and I think it paid off for him."

Fast-forward, and the first impression the rookie has made with the Titans is a good one. Whether it's having the rookie pass catchers meet with him for film study at 5 a.m. or pulling a veteran aside after a missed rep, Cameron has already started to have an impact.

If Cameron's career for the Titans is as successful as his college career was, Tennessee's quest to find its franchise quarterback will be fulfilled.

Armed with a newly signed contract worth $48.7 million, Cameron can give his dad whatever he wants for Father's Day. But above all else, Cameron just wants to give him thanks.

"Thank you for all the time you put in for me and my siblings," he said when asked about his Father's Day message. "The money that you put in and all the behind-the-scenes stuff from the emailing coaches to put my face out there and get me a chance to be who I am today. Just know that I'm trying to do my part and create a legacy for our last name."