Cam Ward and Kyron Drones: From Cousins and Training Partners to Opponents | family

Every week, Darrell Colbert Jr. will get on a gaggle FaceTime name with the quarterbacks he trains to go over their performances, the nice and the dangerous. Their relentless competitors throughout their offseason classes carries into the cellphone calls, as they evaluate stats, throws and even interceptions.

But this week, there was no name.

Not with Cam Ward and Kyron Drones set to sq. off in opposition to one another Friday night time as No. 7 Miami faces Virginia Tech (7:30 ET, ESPN/ESPN App) in a pivotal ACC sport. There is nothing for them to say till the ultimate seconds tick off the clock.

How they bought right here speaks to the unpredictability that goes with life as a quarterback. Here we've two individuals enjoying the place from Texas, cousins on their mom's sides, who had been rated very in a different way as prospects in highschool: Ward barely recruited, Drones a four-star prospect.

Yet they each landed the place they had been meant to be, thanks to the switch portal: Ward at Miami, as one of many main early-season Heisman contenders, and Drones at Virginia Tech, the place he lastly looks like he's residence.

If you had advised Colbert when he began working with Ward and Drones that at some point he would board a airplane to Miami to watch them play in opposition to one another, he would have laughed.

“This was never supposed to happen,” Colbert mentioned.

Ward and Drones grew up lower than an hour from one another outdoors Houston however had no concept they had been associated till highschool. Even then, their first introduction got here as quarterbacks in search of out the proper private coach to enhance their abilities.

As their dads watched them work out with retired Texas highschool teaching legend Steve Van Meter, they bought to speaking. Calvin Ward advised Kevin Drones that Cam was enjoying at West Columbia High. Kevin, a longtime assistant highschool coach within the state, mentioned his spouse was from a close-by city known as Angleton. Calvin Ward mentioned his spouse was from Angleton too.

They every made a name residence. Sure sufficient, their wives had been second cousins and had grown up collectively. But as they bought older and moved to completely different cities and bought busy with their respective households, they misplaced contact. Cam and Kyron allowed them to reconnect, and the familial connection grew the connection between the quarterbacks.

After Van Meter returned to full-time highschool teaching, Drones and Ward wanted one other quarterback coach to assist them. Drones linked with Colbert his junior 12 months of highschool in 2019 thanks to his teaching workers. Colbert, who's 28, performed for Drones' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach throughout his highschool profession, so he knew the ins and outs of what they wished Drones to do.

Ward began working with Colbert too, in 2021, following a 12 months at FCS Incarnate Word.

“We definitely got closer as we started training together,” Kyron Drones mentioned. “It gets real competitive. Real talking trash and picking each other's brain on how to get better. We're all trying to get to that end goal, which is the NFL. Hopefully, we're in the same draft together.”

Indeed, Ward graduated highschool one 12 months earlier than Drones, in 2020. Stuck enjoying in a wing-T offense, Ward had so few alternatives to throw that recruiters by no means paid him a lot thoughts. The reality is, the Wards didn't even understand how good Cam may very well be till they began working with Van Meter. Ward had plans to play basketball in school. But throughout considered one of their early coaching classes collectively, Van Meter pulled Calvin Ward apart.

“Watch this,” Van Meter advised Calvin Ward.

Van Meter had Cam get on the proper hashmark, and he had the receiver get on the left hashmark and run a 15-yard out. Cam hit him completely.

“So he told Cameron, ‘Look, you can probably go across the country and find any 6-foot-2 shooting guard in basketball, but you're probably one of the best 6-2 quarterbacks that I've ever coached,' and he had coached 30-something years in high school,” Calvin Ward mentioned. “So from then, his mindset switched that even though he was not in a system in high school that can showcase his talents, there may be an avenue here.”

Although Calvin crisscrossed the nation taking Cam to camps, the one scholarship supply he bought was to Incarnate Word. So he took it.

Meanwhile in Pearland, Texas, Drones additionally was an missed highschool prospect early in his profession. He, too, dreamed about enjoying school basketball. But as a junior in 2019, he led Shadow Creek High to a state championship — together with his dad on the teaching workers. Soon the presents began pouring in.

Initially, Drones favored going to Auburn. But then COVID-19 shut down recruiting his senior 12 months and he was unable to take any official visits.

Drones ended up taking the final Power 5 supply within the state of Texas, heading to Baylor in 2021. But after two years there, Drones was nonetheless the backup and determined he wished a recent begin. He entered the switch portal. Virginia Tech was the primary college that got here to see him in Waco.

“He was just looking for somebody who was willing to give him a chance and be honest about giving him a chance,” Kevin Drones mentioned. “We felt that immediately with Virginia Tech. We just wanted to have an opportunity, a truthful opportunity, not just lip service or you already have a guy that you've promised or whatever. Just, just be truthful and honest.”

Drones arrived in Blacksburg in 2023 and didn't win the beginning job instantly. He grew to become the starter solely after Grant Wells bought harm early within the season. But as soon as Drones bought his alternative, he didn't look again. Drones began 11 video games final 12 months, capping it with a Military Bowl file with 176 yards speeding in a 41-20 win over Tulane, displaying off why many thought-about him to be among the best returning dual-threat quarterbacks within the nation.

Ward, in the meantime, had lastly gotten the Power 5 alternative he all the time wished. But it was not Miami. Not but, anyway.

In two years at UIW, he threw for six,908 yards and led the varsity to a convention title in 2021. He transferred to Washington State in 2022 and threw for over 6,000 yards in two years there, too. When Ward selected to enter the switch portal following the 2023 season, Drones knew there can be a very good probability he would get to play his cousin this season.

It simply took awhile earlier than anybody knew for certain. Ward was undecided about returning to school. So undecided, in truth, that he entered his identify for the NFL draft. His mother and father moved him into an condominium in Jacksonville, Florida, in January so he may start draft prep work with a coach there.

But one thing gnawed at Calvin. Cam had advised him earlier than declaring for the draft how a lot he beloved enjoying school soccer, and how way more he had left to show. “I think I'm a first-round draft pick,” Cam advised his father.

The NFL draft advisory board had him rated as a middle- to late-rounds choose. Calvin reminded Cam about their dialog because the deadline to pull his identify from the draft approached. Miami had remained involved with Cam, hoping he would change his thoughts.

“He said, ‘If you were me what would you do?'” Calvin recalled. “I said, ‘This is your decision.' He said, ‘I want to go to Miami.' If you could have seen his face, it was like Christmas lights.”

Calvin says that occurred two days earlier than the draft deadline. He and his spouse, Patrice, helped Cam pack up the condominium he had simply rented. Cam registered for a grad program at Miami on-line. Then they had been off, driving down Interstate 95 with Cam driving his automobile and his mother and father driving a rented SUV with Cam's 135-pound Rottweiler, Uno, making the journey alongside them.

With Ward becoming a member of the Hurricanes, preseason expectations soared. But in addition they soared for the Hokies, who returned Drones, together with their main rusher, prime 4 receivers and almost everybody on the offensive line. When the ACC schedule was lastly launched in January, Ward and Drones noticed the dream matchup: Virginia Tech at Miami, Sept. 27.

“I have had this game circled,” Drones mentioned.

Colbert provided some recommendation, since Ward and one other quarterback who works out with them, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, performed one another final 12 months.

“I told Kyron, ‘Just know that the whole week Cam is not going to talk to you; don't expect him to say hey before the game,'” Colbert mentioned with fun.

But Colbert added that the looming sport fueled their competitors much more throughout offseason exercises. Perhaps extra for Ward, who has by no means been shy about speaking slightly trash.

“Let's say we're doing a drill and Kyron throws the ball a little high or a little behind,” Colbert says. “Cam would say, ‘Oh, that's a pick against my guys.' A lot of times it's little shots: ‘That's a turnover on downs, now I'm going to score.' Cam always starts it.”

Cam Ward credit the exercises with Colbert, and coaching with Sanders and Drones, for serving to him get higher.

“He's one of the best quarterback coaches in the game,” Cam Ward mentioned. “With me, Shedeur and Kyron, Darrell gets us right. He also lets us have our own little style in the workouts to how we play our game. He makes us hone in on the little things, and that's what I feel like I've been better at.”

Ward has gotten off to a sizzling begin this season, rating No. 2 within the nation in passing yards (1,439) whereas main undefeated Miami to 209 whole factors — probably the most the Hurricanes have scored within the first 4 video games of any season.

Virginia Tech has gotten off to a slower begin at 2-2 as Drones and the offense strive to discover their footing. Kevin Drones observed Kyron placing an excessive amount of stress on himself earlier within the season and advised him to play unfastened and have enjoyable. So far, Drones has 974 whole yards of offense, with six touchdowns and three interceptions.

But as Ward mentioned after a win over USF final week, what occurred up till now could be irrelevant. ACC play begins with a well-known face throughout the sideline, a extremely anticipated matchup within the Ward and Drones households. Unfortunately for Kevin Drones, he won't be able to attend as he has a highschool sport to coach that night time.

But his spouse, Olinka, can be there. So will Patrice and Calvin. The two cousins will see one another earlier than the sport earlier than going to sit of their respective crew sections. Colbert won't be able to take sides. Rather, “Hopefully those guys can go out there and have one of those legendary games, so every time I turn on social media for the rest of the weekend, I just see Kyron Drones and Cam Ward.”

Ward was, predictably, pretty tight-lipped when requested concerning the alternative to open ACC play in opposition to Drones. “I'm just ready to play the game,” Ward mentioned.

Kyron alternatively?

“Cam's going to see when we play Miami,” he mentioned. “[I'll] just show him who the real No. 1 is.”