The night hope returned to Nashville: ‘Cam Ward is a game changer’

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Love for Ward was too, apparently. 

Before the draft officially began, Titans public address announcer Matt Rogers received a unanimous vote of approval for the former Miami quarterback when he asked fans to scream who they wanted the Titans to pick. One teenager wore a Will Levis jersey that had “Levis” and the No. 8 crossed out with tape in favor of “Ward” and No. 1 (Ward’s number at Miami and Washington State). 

Wilson and his neighbor, 42-year-old Randy Harries, came to the draft party sporting “Luv Ya Cam” shirts, a nod to the “Luv Ya Blue” slogan of the Houston Oilers era of the franchise. The shirts were Wilson’s idea. He produced them through his Nashville-based company, Hickory Brand House, which creates print-on-demand merchandise. 

“I think we’re two years away,” Wilson said. “You got an all-star QB on a rookie deal. You’ve got that three-, four-, five-year window where you’ve got him on a team-friendly deal that you can really surround him with building blocks before he gets that big, big QB1 money.” 

Hatcher Morris, 25, said he loves Ward’s underdog story. The most exciting parts for him are the QB’s leadership skills and the way he carries himself off the field. 

RELATED: How Cam Ward built his unshakable confidence: ‘He has a boulder on his shoulder’

A Dallas native, Morris moved to Tennessee in 2004. With his dad being a season ticket holder, he estimates that he’s been to “at least” 60 Titans home games in his life. 

“I remember Jake Locker and Marcus Mariota. I’ve seen this kind of play out before in ways I haven’t been entirely appreciative. The hype has been the same each time,” said Morris. “I feel a little bit more confident with this pick. I basically spent the latter half of my work day watching film [of Ward] in anticipation.”

Lawrence Haywood sees a quarterback who can bring the “old-school magic” back to Nashville. A local high school basketball coach, the 51-year-old remembers watching the “Music City Miracle,” the Titans’ legendary kickoff return touchdown that sent the franchise to the 1993 AFC divisional round. 

“He seems like the kid that can handle [the spotlight],” Haywood said of Ward. “I like to compare it to taking a test in school: If you’re not really prepared, you feel like you have to cheat a little bit, look on someone else’s paper. But those nights you really studied, you ready to go. I see [Ward] in that light.”

RELATED: How Cam Ward’s unorthodox rise shaped him: ‘I’m not worried about no spotlight’  

Despite being hopeful about Ward, fans who spoke to FOX Sports aren’t oblivious to the recent dysfunction of the Titans, who are coming off three wins in 2024, their third straight losing season. Owner Amy Adams Strunk has fired two general managers in the past two-and-a-half years. 

Caleb Hoffman, 20, admits that he’s felt “up and down recently” about the team. He hasn’t been totally content with how the organization has been run, including the firing of Mike Vrabel as coach after the 2023 season and how the dismissal of former general manager Ran Carthon was handled in January.

“And now having the pairing of [coach Brian] Callahan and [GM Mike] Borgonzi together, it’s an odd set-up,” Hoffman said. “I’m hoping for the best out of it. … I think we have a chance to get on the right path if Cam Ward turns out like we all hope he does. 

“I think it’s a high-risk move,” he added. “I definitely recognize that it’s not the safest No. 1 overall pick. We’re not getting Joe Burrow tonight or anything like that. But I’m looking on the bright side and I’m trusting in Borgonzi, trusting in Callahan, the work that they’ve done. They rebuffed trade offers from New York that we’ve heard about and that kind of stuff. If this is their guy, I trust them and I trust that we’ll be moving in the right direction here soon.”

Is Cam Ward a franchise-changing QB?

With how bad Tennessee has been in recent years, Harries sees a “silver lining” with the team getting the top overall selection. 

“Everybody is zero-zero. Everybody is tied for first,” he said. “It’s one of those things where you’ve seen other franchises get turned around with a single pick. Kansas City Chiefs, for instance. Those are the examples you kind of have to hang on to and hope that’s what happens here.”

So, what is Ward’s arrival the start of? 

“I’d say, hopefully, like a cold glass of water on the face,” Morris said. “A little refreshment, not only for the fans, but maybe the coaching staff having a little more to work with. I was optimistic of what we could do with Levis, but hopefully some of the character and the athletic traits that Ward has will allow our staff to kind of develop him into something that we couldn’t with Levis. 

“So overall,” he said, “optimistic for that.” 

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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