Drawing criticism in some circles, ESPN’s Louis Riddick, a former NFL executive, didn’t hesitate when it came to Heisman runner-up Cam Ward. Riddick went as far as to claim Ward a ‘Stone Cold Killer,’ and said Ward and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty are the two top players in the 2025 NFL Draft at this point in time.
ESPN’s Louis Riddick Names Cam Ward, Ashton Jeanty as Top NFL Draft Prospects
Make no mistake about it. Riddick is in love with Ward’s game. He thinks he is a generational player.
I asked @LRiddickESPN the best player he saw this college season. He had two: Cam Ward and Ashton Jeanty.
On Cam: “This dude is a stone cold killer. When you talk about alphas, in your face alphas…”
On Jeanty: “Ashton is Emmitt Smith with 4.3, 4.4 speed.” pic.twitter.com/Gy70EHe4dj
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 16, 2025
“I’ve gotten to talk to him three times,” Riddick said. “I did a game of his at Washington State two years ago, then we got to do two Miami games this year. This dude, he’s a stone cold killer man, no question.”
Riddick used the same term to describe Ward that Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal used all season. He called him an Alpha Dog.
“When you talk about alphas, you talk about in-your-face alphas, quarterbacks that tip the sphere that wants to hold everyone else accountable, some of the stories of what he did with that football team last spring before Miami played in the fall of 2024,” Riddick said. “The way in which he challenged people that were already there, the way in which he talked to them, the way in which he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re used to, but it ain’t gonna be that way now.”
“This was a guy that hadn’t taken a snap yet for the team!”
Ward famously transferred for the third time in his collegiate career to Miami for the 2024 season in a move that proved tremendous for his career.
Riddick also said Ward has moxie and confidence in himself, which rival the Miami swagger of the 1980’s.
He believes it will do him well in the NFL. He also said Ward will need to learn a few things when he gets to the league which will make him a better player. Riddick confirmed that Ward also might have to get some of the ice out of his veins.
“He know he won’t be able to get away with some of that nonchalant-ness that he showed, but he’s not doing it to rub people’s faces in it,” Riddick said. “That’s just him. He knows that some of that is going to have to go by the wayside and be more secure when he’s in the pocket, like when he got it knocked out late against Georgia Tech, those kinds of things.”
MORE: Top 10 NFL Draft QBs
Right now, CFN ranks Ward as the top quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft and a top-10 player ahead of April’s draft.
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