Junior quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. has blossomed as the starter this season, but isn’t satisfied with where his game is yet. | Michael Calderon/The Cougar
After stepping in as the starting quarterback midway through the 2014 season, junior Greg Ward, Jr. led the Cougars to a 6-2 record, including a comeback win over Pittsburgh Panthers in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
Since then, the Houston football program has undergone a lot of changes and the Cougar caught up with Ward to get his take on the 2015 season and more.
The Cougar: Last year, when they called your number, you came in and provided a spark to the offense at the quarterback position. How would you grade your own performance in 2014?
Greg Ward, Jr.: My performance last year wasn’t good. All I was doing was trying to help the team win and that didn’t happen enough. I didn’t prepare myself like I do this year, so my performance this year will be way better.
TC: Heading into the offseason and training camp, what aspects of your game did you want to improve for the 2015 season?
GW: I would say being a more vocal leader. I’m a quiet guy and as a quarterback, the coach is always enforcing that I need to be more vocal. I need to be loud and come out of my comfort zone, so that’s what I’m working on right now.
TC: The change in coaching regimes has a lot of fans excited about Cougar football. What about the change has you excited?
GW: We have a great coaching staff, one of the best in the country, and I’m just happy to be a part of it. I love being coached by Tom Herman and Major Applewhite everyday and learning all I can from them.
TC: What have been your impressions of Herman after spending time with him at camp?
GW: He is a great guy. He cares about the players, he actually loves the players. He changed the culture, not just on the field but in the classroom and everything else here as well. He really enforced how important all the little things are and I think that will make a huge difference.
TC: How has bringing in a coach like Applewhite helped improve your technique and overall understanding of the quarterback position?
GW: He played division one football at the University of Texas and he was a great quarterback. He played the position so he knows how to relate to us young quarterbacks. With all of his knowledge, combined with Tom Herman’s experience as a quarterback’s coach too, you can’t beat it. Things like drops, progressions, everything a quarterback needs, we go over it everyday and it is really helping all the quarterbacks’ development.
TC: When Herman came to Houston, he said that he would not hand the starting job to you; the starter needs to earn that spot. How has the quarterback competition with guys like Adam Schulz helped push your game?
GW: The competition helps keep me from slacking, not even one day. Everyday you have to come out here and work. Knowing that the guy next to you is going to work just as hard and match your intensity helps push your play to a whole other level.
TC: After losing several of the top receiving targets from last season, how has your relationship developed with the guys trying to step up?
GW: I have a real good relationship with all of the guys, we all joke around everyday. You have to build a friendship, a family really, so we all have to be close. Some of us, old hands like Kenneth Farrow, Ryan Jackson and some of the younger receivers like Steven Dunbar, Demarcus Ayers, we all stayed up here during camp, going over film, routes or anything we needed to work on and that has really helped us gel.
TC: What do you expect the 2015 Cougar offense to look like in comparison to last year’s squad?
GW: We will be more detail oriented. The little things are what matter the most, things like ball security. Every play we have to execute as close to perfect as we can and that will be all the difference.
TC: What goals or benchmarks have you set for yourself in the 2015 season?
GW: I haven’t really set any goals for myself. I just want to go out and win every game no matter what it takes. I just want to take the season one game at a time and do whatever it takes to beat the team in front of us.
TC: Come the end of the season, how do you expect Houston to stack up next to the other schools in the American Athletic Conference?
GW: I don’t know what the future holds, but we are just working on winning every single game when they come to us and we’ll see where we stand at the end if the season.
