What’s the next step in WSU QB Cameron Ward’s development? He says it’s twofold

LAS VEGAS – When Cameron Ward transferred to Washington State last year, he had the great pleasure of taking part in the Cougars’ winter workouts. He had just moved from San Antonio, where he played quarterback for Incarnate Word the previous two seasons, and he might have been a tad out of shape.

“First time I saw Cam,” senior edge rusher Ron Stone Jr. said, looking at Ward with a wide smile on his face, “one of our winter workouts didn’t go his way.”

Stone and Ward, seated next to each other for interviews at Friday’s Pac-12 media day, erupted in laughter. Stone danced around the details of Ward’s experience at the workout – “He rallied quick, and he got right in the groove of things,” Stone said – so it was clear Stone didn’t want to embarrass Ward too much.

Ward has taken a much less ambiguous tone about his second season at Washington State. He had a solid first season and is adamant he can make his second even better.

“Just putting all the pieces in place now,” Ward said. “Wrinkling out the kinks for everyone in fall camp, myself, defense, receivers, O-line, D-line, everybody. So, just putting it all in place, trying to keep everyone healthy during fall camp.”

Ward knows he can take the next step in his development. He said that process is twofold: Establish better fundamentals and step up as a leader.

Mostly, he wants to improve his footwork. He likes the work he did last fall, evading rushers and scrambling out of the pocket, but when he revisits the film, he notices he could have done better. Could have made better reads. Could have dropped back with more efficiency.

That’s the balance quarterbacks with Ward’s athleticism have to strike: Scramble effectively, not wildly. Make smart reads, not audacious ones. Drop back with purpose, not abandon. In Year One at WSU, Ward showed a combination of talent and athleticism. In Year Two, he’s ready to harness it.

“He has elite, NFL talent. Period,” Washington State coach Jake Dickert said. “And to get his feet and arm in sync, and to have accuracy on the deep passes, is where he needed to greatly improve. He’s aware of it. We showed him. We saw the analytics. We watched the tape. You can go with two things: We don’t call out, we call up. And we called him up to a meeting to get better and improve.”

This summer, he’s made progress on that front by working with Ben Arbuckle, the Cougars’ new offensive coordinator. Since taking over in January, Arbuckle has shown Ward the importance of taking a standard three-step drop back. “I feel like that’s gonna help me with my timing,” Ward said. “Get through pre- and postsnap progressions faster. And I’ve seen the changes that it’s made in spring ball, and I’m excited to see what I’m gonna do during the season.”

The Cougars, who open the season with a road game Sept. 2 at Colorado State, would benefit in a serious way. Last fall, Ward completed 64.4% of his passes for 3,231 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He made plays that impressed television commentators. He established an NFL draft profile.

He just wasn’t always consistent, which is where Arbuckle might come in.

It’s still two weeks from training camp, so it remains to be seen how their connection will develop as the season unfolds, but WSU’s new offensive coordinator figures to fit right in. An Air Raid coach at his previous stop of Western Kentucky, Arbuckle guided the Hilltoppers’ offense to 497.3 yards per game (which ranked sixth nationally) and 36.4 points per game (15th).

Arbuckle and Ward will have a few new players to welcome. This offseason, to replace a couple of receivers who transferred, Washington State landed transfer wideouts DT Sheffield (NW Mississippi Community College), Kyle Williams (UNLV) and Josh Kelly (Fresno State).

Ward explained what they bring to the Cougars’ offense.

“DT is very explosive,” Ward said. “We didn’t really have that (last year) due to the injuries we had with Rob (Ferrel) and Renard Bell. Josh Kelly’s a great route runner from the (outside) position. Kyle Williams, he’s a great route runner, too. He can win on go-balls. So each three of them, even Lincoln Victor, they all bring something different to the table.”

Ward, though, doesn’t want to just toss slants to them. He wants to earn their trust, to push them to improve, to direct them. That’s the other part of Ward’s development: Blossoming into a leader.

By all accounts, Ward has already started to do so. He’s made conscious efforts to get to know his teammates better, which has resulted in a better bond, allowing everyone involved to connect on the field.

“I think Cam knows who he is better than he ever has in his life,” Dickert said. “He knows he doesn’t have to be flashy. He needs to be him. And being him is as good as it’ll ever be. So I think he’s found ways to connect with everybody on our roster, and I think that has empowered him to be a better leader.”

“I feel like I’m way more vocal than I was last year,” Ward said. “As the quarterback of the team, the team expects that from me, that’s what I’m gonna give them. So I feel like if I take on all the criticism of being a quarterback, I take on the ins and outs of being a quarterback, I thrive for the position.”

For Washington State players, that’s the tantalizing part: Ward has their trust. How he improves this fall might make all the difference.