Mario Cristobal could not have been luckier when Cam Ward decided to sign with the Hurricanes. Ward became a star at Coral Gables. That transcended to him ruling college football until he went to the NFL. His journey so far has made waves that have reached far and wide. Young recruits, in particular, look at his career as an inspiration. He’s a reason why a key prospect in the 2026 class is choosing Miami. And like Ward, even this young man is projected to kick up a storm in college football. Moreover, he hopes to take on the baton from Ward.
Cristobal currently has the No. 8 class in the 2026 recruiting pool. He has 13 commits, a lot of whom are blue-chippers. The longest commit in that unit is of 4-star QB Dereon Coleman. Coleman is regarded by Andrew Ivins as a “dark horse.” Ironically, the same label was pinned to Cam Ward when he began his career at Incarnate Word. Coleman has a bond with Heisman winner, having committed to the Hurricanes way back in 2024. He even sees himself as succeeding Ward in the future. After 2025, the chances look promising.
Until then, Coleman is busy racking up more skills and numbers to up his stocks. He is currently participating in the famed Elite 11 finals in California, and was already one of the names to watch out for. In a June 18 video on 247Sports, he shared that his career was not perfect. “I think my journey’s been rocky. My journey was never clean. I always had adversity in everything I did, so I just had to overcome all that,” Coleman said. This is somewhere he overlaps slightly with Ward. When the latter finished his prep career, he had no Power 4 schools in the bag.
6 more months…#Gocanes pic.twitter.com/CHPBVeqSLi
— Dereon Coleman (@DereonColemanQB) June 13, 2025
Then Coleman shared why Cam Ward is special to him. When asked if Ward gave him some advice, the QB said, “He said the same thing. What I say is, ‘Don’t let them tell you what you can or can’t do.’ Because he came from way below than what I am. So that actually hits my heart when he says it, too. So, I just know I can do what I want to do if I put my heart to it.” Those are wise words from one superstar to another in the making. The Elite 11 has seen players like Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier, and so many chart their brilliant trajectories later on in CFB.
Cam Ward spent just one season at Miami, and he won everything he possibly could in the FBS in that short time. Carson Beck will also depart to the NFL after his last season in 2025. That opens up the room far and wide for Dereon Coleman to shed his ‘dark horse’ colors and unleash his true self. “Imagine me being there for 3-4 years. That says it all. We are going to go win a national championship,” Coleman claimed boldly. He already has 5,648 yards and 44 TDs in the bag. He’s also a dual-threat QB, having 702 total rushing yards as of now.
The QB1 situation in the room will change significantly by the time Coleman enrolls in Miami. Until then, Carson Beck is still being downplayed when it comes to the impact left behind by Cam Ward.
Carson Beck receives brutal reality in light of Cam Ward’s career
Carson Beck dominated the conversation in 2023. Georgia never looked better with Beck returning as QB1 for the second time. In the first three games, Beck pitched in 222.7 yards per game, seven TDs, and no interceptions. And then Beck stumbled so badly in the reason that he could never get back to his glorious self. By the end of the season, the QB had an interception rate double that of 2023, a drop in yards per attempt (7.8). Yes, he was blamed unnecessarily for other aspects. Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers’ departures to the NFL made Beck unsteady in the field. Beck has only now begun to sway the opinion towards his side. But, with Cam Ward’s legacy to match, the QB still has to go a long way.
“Unnecessary Roughness,” Kayce Smith said. He also bluntly reflected how Beck never impressed him. “Carson Beck has never been a needle mover for me, and it’s like they have such a seismic downgrade at quarterback in my opinion, and Cam Ward won them a lot and a lot of games.” Brandon Walker, however, did come to Beck’s rescue, because Georgia’s 2024 flaws are not all on the QB. However, with what Ward did in 2024, Beck doesn’t seem to live up to that legacy. “Without Cam Ward, if they just have, like, even a slightly above average, like, Power Five, Power Four quarterback, they win probably, like, six or seven games,” he added, still on edge about Beck taking over for Ward.
Ward led the Hurricanes to the 13th place in the rankings, and ended up in 4th place in the run-up to the Heisman trophy. All of that came after Ward was a zero-star recruit when he signed with Incarnate Word. But once he showed what he could do, the biggest schools started circling him when he decided to transfer. Cam Ward is the ceiling for Miami’s new – and future – QB1 to reach. How successful will they be in this mammoth task?
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