Mario Cristobal wants to make one thing clear: Cam Ward did not quit on the Miami Hurricanes by sitting out the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl and anything said otherwise is "a false narrative."
Ward, who rewrote the Hurricanes' record book during his one season at UM, played in the first half of Miami's eventual 42-41 loss to No. 18 Iowa State at Orlando's Camping World Stadium but stayed on the sideline for the second half even as the Cyclones rallied to take the lead late in the game. Emory Williams played the second half.
Following the game, Cristobal did not divulge why Ward only played the first half outside of saying meetings and decisions with players are made "in private and we keep them private." That led to rumors and theories running rampant in the aftermath - including that Ward quit on the team or that it was related to name, image and likeness deals, among others.
But on Monday, at a news conference introducing new Hurricanes defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, Cristobal took a moment to clear the air on the situation from his perspective.
Here was Cristobal's full comment Monday on the situation: "I'd say, for sure, a false narrative. OK. I think what was very clear to us, as you got closer and closer to game day, it became increasingly evident that Cam was more than likely going to be the first player selected in the NFL Draft. That's when decisions were made that were best for everybody, and they played out that way, OK? And then, for obvious reasons, we're not going to discuss personnel. We're not going to discuss game plan for anybody at any time, and I don't feel the need to go race to squash false narratives and a bunch of (nonsense) that people like to start because that's their way of doing whatever their job is. So that's where it's at. That's where it's always been. Cam has been an exceptional and elite Miami Hurricane as a competitor, as a player, as a teammate. He's elevated the profile and the exposure of the University of Miami. He is leading a legacy that's going to be impactful for generations to come. I mean, he's the best. He's the best I've been around, and I look forward to watching him lead an NFL franchise to championships and watching him play on Sundays."
In the Pop Tarts Bowl, Ward completed 12 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns, the first of which broke Case Keenum's record for most career touchdown passes at the Division I level.
Ward finished his one year with the Hurricanes completing 305 of 454 passes for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns against seven interceptions. The completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns are all single-season school records. So, too, is the 67.2% completion rate.
For his five-year college football career, which included two years apiece at FCS-level Incarnate Word and Washington State, Ward's had 18,189 passing yards and 158 passing touchdowns against 53 interceptions.
"He's a big reason why we won 10 games," Cristobal said, "and had a chance to really win every game."