Miami quarterback Cam Ward caused quite a social media storm by playing just one half in the Pop Tarts Bowl on Saturday. Ward set the world on fire early on Iowa State but in the second half I watched from the bench. A loss occurred before his eyes and now people on the internet are wondering if his 2025 NFL Draft stock will fall.

ESPN’s Booger McFarland has now joined the conversation and compared the move to something LSU Wide receivers Malik Nabers did. LSU faced Wisconsin in their bowl game, where Nabers broke the program’s all-time rushing record. Then he sat out the second half, probably to protect his health.

Nabers was then drafted highly by the New York Giants and was one of the best rookies in the NFL. McFarland’s overall point: Ward did nothing wrong and will be perfectly fine going forward.

“(Nabers) did the same thing for LSU last year,” McFarland said of X. “Played one half. The plate stayed off in the second half. The rest is history. Keep it up DJ lol.”

Ward actually broke a record and secured the most passing touchdowns in Division I history. His first score of the night secured him the title and even though it was in the first quarter, Ward decided to play until halftime. He finished the game completing 12 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think all meetings with players and decisions like that, we make them privately and keep them private,” Miami’s head coach said Mario Cristobal said. “Therefore, I will prefer not to answer questions in this regard. I know he did his best there.”

Back to the Nabers comparison: The wide receiver’s rookie season was pretty good. In 13 games, he caught 97 passes for 969 yards and 10 touchdowns despite a quarterback mess in New York. With two games remaining for the Giants, Nabers has a chance to become the franchise’s first 1,000-yard receiver Odell Beckham Jr.a fellow LSU Tiger.

Who knows, maybe Nabers will be the one catching Ward’s passes next season. New York is close to recruiting a quarterback, possibly eyeing the Miami star from Colorado Shedeur Sanders. Based on Nabers’ draft, they certainly wouldn’t have a problem with Ward’s approach and agree with McFarland.