SAN MARCOS, Texas – During Cameron Ward’s official visit to FCS-member Incarnate Word in 2020, then-head coach Eric Morris – now the head coach at North Texas – spoke about his days as Patrick Mahomes’ offensive coordinator at Texas Tech.
“He sat right in front of us and said Patrick Mahomes threw the ball 44 times [a game] his sophomore year and 54 times his junior year. He told us you’re going to throw the ball 40-something times on average,” said Calvin Ward, Cameron Ward’s father. “And – this was the selling point for us – they wanted Cam to make changes at the line, `because you’re closer than us. If you make a mistake, we won’t be mad at you.’ I was like, `I’m in.’ ”
Ward, who transferred to Washington State and starred the past two seasons in the Pac-12, begat Lindsey Scott Jr., a graduate transfer who amassed 60 touchdown passes and led the FCS in passing efficiency at UIW in 2022. Scott now plays in the XFL.
Scott’s sublime year under head coach G.J. Kinne put Kinne on the map. Texas State – an FBS school – saw what Kinne’s magic touch did for Scott and hired him after his only season at UIW. Kinne, in turn, signed 6-foot-7 quarterback TJ Finley who started at LSU then transferred to Auburn, but needed an offense to call his own. All Finley did this year directing Kinne’s fast-paced attack was accumulate 3,287 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while leading Texas State to its first bowl appearance in school history. Finley and Texas State (7-5) face Rice (6-6) in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl on Dec. 26 (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+).
Ward, Scott and Finley – who are all Black – are beacons of hope for future signal-callers of color that bigger isn’t always better, at least not right away.
“Once I got on the visit here, the coaches showed me film. I saw what they did with Cam Ward, I saw what they did with Lindsey,” Finley said. “I had a lot of Power 5 schools offer me, but did I want to put myself in a position where I’d be battling three or four guys? Or did I want to come here with an amazing offense, amazing staff, take that opportunity and run with it.”
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Finley saw the jaw-dropping numbers that Ward and Scott produced at UIW, not to mention having freedom at the quarterback position. The possibilities were intoxicating.
“Everything is through me,” Finley said. “I signal to the receivers. I tell the O-line what to do. When you go to bigger schools, those coaches have been around so long it’s hard for them to adjust. With our coaches being young and up-and-coming, they try different things.”
Kinne, 35, is the third-youngest coach at the FBS level.
“It’s quarterback driven,” he said. “Look at the numbers and the quarterbacks who have played in the system, and what they have done. It’s finding somebody with a trait that’s unique. Obviously, TJ – his size, his arm strength, his accuracy, and his intelligence are some of the things that really pop off the screen.”
Texas State offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, who was already on the Incarnate Word staff when Kinne arrived, recruited Ward, Scott and Finley. Leftwich convinced Morris to overlook the fact that Ward orchestrated a run-heavy offense in pass-happy Texas.
“Cam was relatively unknown because he played in the wing-T. He might have thrown the ball 40 times his whole junior season,” Leftwich said. “There were a couple throws that stood out on his highlight tape so I was kind of intrigued. We invited him to summer camp and he absolutely crushed it, throwing the ball like I’ve never seen somebody in person before.
“We’ve recruited some really good quarterbacks, guys who, for whatever reason, didn’t work out at the spot before us (Scott, like Finley, also transferred from a pair of Power 5 programs – LSU and Missouri) who came to play in our system and had a lot of success. Quarterbacks want to play where they can throw the football and be aggressive and have freedom. To be honest, when you work in the transfer world like we do, it’d be hard to find a better situation to come in and play quarterback.”
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Cameron Ward received one college scholarship offer. One. And that was from Incarnate Word. Ward’s dream schools were Texas A&M and Houston, both within easy driving distance of his family’s home. He didn’t hear from either one … or from any of the other 133 FBS schools.
“Cameron was willing to go anywhere,” Calvin Ward said. “I probably contacted over 1,000 coaches. Division I. Division II. NAIA. Junior colleges. Schools nobody knew about. Sent them his tape. `This is Cameron Ward. Can you take a look at him?’ Coaches were like, `We’re going to call you.’ ”
But they never did.
“UIW [Incarnate Word] was his only offer,” Calvin Ward continued. “They offered another quarterback [that] scholarship. The kid didn’t want to play at UIW because he thought it was too low [division-wise]. With him not taking the scholarship, it became available for Cameron. Like he said, `I only got one offer. I want to play college football. I’ve got to take it and hope for the best.’ ”
Two seasons and just under 7,000 yards and 71 touchdown passes later, Ward departed UIW, a member of the Southland Conference, with a pocket full of school and FCS records and transferred to Washington State in 2022. From there, he rang up over 6,900 passing yards and 48 more touchdown passes to emerge as one of the crown jewels among quarterbacks in this year’s transfer portal. ESPN has him ranked as the No. 2 available quarterback in the portal behind former USC quarterback Malachi Nelson.
“He’s looking for a program that can possibly compete for a national championship, where he can be QB1 with an offense geared toward throwing the football,” Calvin Ward said. “Someone who can help him improve for the NFL.”
Finley played at such a high level this season that, like Ward did at Incarnate Word, he might have played his way out of Texas State. He will be a redshirt junior next year in an ever-increasing NIL world and has the option to return to Texas State, jump into the transfer portal, or enter the NFL draft.
The father of infant twin sons, Finley said finances will play a major role in his decision.
“I put myself in a position where my future is in my hands,” Finley said. “I have Power 5 schools reaching out to me. Right now, I’m focused on winning this bowl game. We’ll see what the future holds. It all depends on the best opportunity.
“My No. 1 concern is being able to take care of my boys.”
