"No one wanted him." How Ward let outsiders' doubt fuel his rise from a no-star recruit to becoming the future face of an NFL franchise.

In the final days and weeks leading up to the 2025 NFL draft, there was little doubt who the Tennessee Titans would take with the No. 1 overall pick — star quarterback Cam Ward. Ward’s journey to the NFL was anything but typical.

The name Cam Ward has very different meanings in North Carolina's Research Triangle and the rest of the country. In Raleigh, N.C., he is forever the nerve center of the Carolina Hurricanes' 2006 Stanley Cup team—the rookie who backstopped his squad to the promised land.