Canzano: A meeting of the Cams that makes me wonder
Cam Ward and Cam Rising... once upon a time.
It was the summer of 2023, and the temperature outside was 111 degrees. I was in Las Vegas for Pac-12 Conference Football Media Day. Chip Kelly sat down for an interview and told me he’d stepped outside his hotel at six o’clock that morning and gasped because it was already in the 90s.
“I don’t get it,” Kelly said. “Why do people live here?”
The Raiders and $6 million a year changed his viewpoint.
Kelly was fun in our talk that day, but that’s not what I remember most about that media event. The most memorable moment starred a young quarterback in a crimson polo shirt who made small talk with me between interviews.
It was Cam Ward — the guy now projected as the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
Ward and I were talking about his journey from Incarnate Word to Washington State. He received a $90,000 NIL package from the Cougar Collective that included a pick-up truck, an apartment, and cash. We talked about his mother, too. She’s a special education teacher and a big influence in his life. Then suddenly, Ward saw someone approaching from across the room and his demeanor shifted.
It was Cam Rising, the two-time Pac-12 champion and reigning league Most Valuable Player. The Utah quarterback was recovering from serious knee surgery, but walking without a limp. Ward and Rising had never met before. That didn’t stop WSU’s QB from crying out: “The GOAT! Here comes the GOAT!!”