THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Spotlight shines on Ward, whether he wants it to or not

Cameron Ward insists that it’s not all about him.

Sorry, Cam.

It really MUST be about you.

Washington State had a remarkable football season in 2021 — meaning “remarkable” in every way possible.

Coach Nick Rolovich was fired in midseason for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination, as required of all state employees.

Suddenly, defensive coordinator Jake Dickert was given the reins on an interim basis, and the Cougs played well — punctuated by a 40-13 thrashing of UW in an Apple Cup rout made even more delicious when quarterback Jayden de Laura planted Ol’ Crimson, the famous Wazzu flag, in the middle of Husky Stadium.

Remarkable, indeed.

But once again, remember that we said remarkable in countless ways.

After that bravura performance in Seattle, de Laura promptly transferred to Arizona — which left Dickert, freshly named the Cougs’ full-time head coach, without his star quarterback.

Hey, no problem.

Washington State won some big-time recruiting battles to bring in 10 transfers for this fall, but none of them were as critical as QB Cam Ward from FCS power Incarnate Word.

REMEMBER, Wazzu is retaining a version of Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense (it’s now called the Coug Raid).

Fact: You can’t win a lick without a sharp, gifted trigger man in that kind of offense.

Now, no disrespect to Idaho, which visits Martin Stadium for the 2022 opener at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, but …

This game, and many after it, will shine an awfully bright

light on Ward, the leader that pretty much everybody wanted.

Yes, I know these stats came in FCS competition — which is better than you think — but nonetheless, they boggle the mind.

For starters, Ward won the Jerry Rice Award as the best freshman in FCS during the 2021 spring season.

The 6-2, 220-pounder followed up as a soph by throwing for 4,648 yards and 47 touchdowns against 10 interceptions in the fall as Incarnate Word made the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Ward now owns school records for career passing TDs (71) and yards (6,908), with just 14 picks, in his two seasons.

So …

Can it translate to Wazzu and the Pac-12?

Ward brushes off the worries, more or less as though he doesn’t have the time to bother with such silliness.

“At the end of the day, I don’t really believe in pressure,” Ward said in a recent interview.

“It’s football. I’ve been doing it since I was 8 years old. I’ll just take it one snap at a time and whatever happens, happens.”

Dickert isn’t exactly staying awake nights, either, having said several times, “Cam was born for this.”

WAZZU figures to have far too many good athletes for Idaho – also featuring a new coach in Jason Eck – but the Cougs will get a stern test in their second game, against Wisconsin in Madison.

This Washington State group might be good enough to surprise a lot of people, however, with a solid core returning on defense (aided by transfer linebacker Daiyan Hayley).

How the Cougs compete with the likes of Utah, Oregon, USC and others in the Pac-12, though, likely will land on the shoulders of the offense.

There is plenty of experienced talent among the receivers, but WSU must break in an almost entirely new

offensive line — not to mention finding runners to replace the departed Max Borghi and Deon McIntosh.

Needless to say, Ward could help solve ALL those issues if he’s as good as advertised.

“I tend to push all of that to the side,” Ward said of his huge jump in competition.

“I stick to my job, which is to go to school and play football for coach Dickert.”

Ward admits his teammates kid him about all the publicity, and his outsized role is making sure the Cougs don’t slide backwards this year.

They point him out on campus, ask for his autograph and engage in all the other hijinks you’d expect from a tight-knit gang of college players.

But …

In the end, it’s all going to come down to whether Ward is as special as everyone believes him to be.

If so, Wazzu might be pretty special, too.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published weekly during the season.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”