One of the things that makes Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes such a dynamic talent is his ability to uncork on-target passes from seemingly any position. Catch him off balance, flush him from the pocket, start to drag him to the ground, it doesn’t matter where; Mahomes has made a habit of dazzling with throws that come from unconventional arm angles.

He credits his days on the baseball diamond, throwing sidearm and sinker-style. It’s become an oft-imitated, rarely-replicated brand of quarterbacking.

Cameron Ward, though, his teammates see the Chiefs star in some of his throws.

“Cam’s gonna be real good,” wideout Renard Bell told reporters on Thursday, via The Spokesman-Review’s Colton Clark. “Cam’s gonna be real nice. He has an arm. He can make Patrick Mahomes throws and stuff like that. He’s gonna be really good. Once he gets used to (Pac-12 speed), it’s a wrap from there.”

Ward spent his high school days in a Wing-T offense. He had the arm for FBS and Power Five offers. He did not, however, have the tape. That landed him at FCS-level Incarnate Word. But Ward immediately proved himself capable, winning the 2021 Jerry Rice Award as the most outstanding freshman player in FCS Football. He set multiple UIW single-game and single-season passing records in just six games, throwing for 2,260 yards and 24 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

He was one of the biggest names on the quarterback market this offseason and picked Washington State out of the bunch. Eric Morris, his old UIW head coach and new Washington State offensive coordinator, had a hand in getting him to Pullman.

You see shades of Mahomes when he slings it. Ward can throw from awkward angles. He gets the ball out with zip. And he has the Cougars excited.

“I’m excited about what he’s going to do with the weapons that we have on offense under the direction of one of the best offensive coordinators I believe in the country in Eric Morris,” head coach Jake Dickert said at Pac-12 Media Day this past weekend. “I told him all the time, I trust him, I believe in him, go out there and be you, right? Cam hasn’t reached his ceiling.”

The Cougars open the season at home against Idaho on Sept. 3.