During his meeting with reporters on Tuesday, Miami quarterback Cam Ward spoke about his relationship with Virginia Tech signal caller Kyron Drones, his cousin. Ward said he and Drones work with the same QB coach this offseason. The QBs take center stage Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

Ward is off to a sensational start for Miami in his first season with the Hurricanes. Through the first four games this season, Ward has completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 1,439 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions with 89 rushing yards and one score.

Drones has completed 59.8 percent of his pass attempts for 765 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions with 209 rushing yards and another two scores. The 2024 Drone interceptions match his entire 2023 season total. In 13 games in 2023, Drones completed 58.2 percent for 2,085 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Ward leads the ACC in passing yards, yards per attempt, passing yards per game, touchdown passes and passer rating. Ward has more than lived up to his selection as ACC Preseason Player of the Year. FanDuel calls Ward the current favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at plus 350.

“Kyron and I found out we were cousins, I would say freshman year of high school. So not that long ago, about four or five years ago. But it was good. We’ve been building since we started with the same quarterback coach, I’m just ready to play the game.”

– Miami quarterback Cam Ward

Drones is second in the ACC in rushing yards and rushing yards per game. Miami faces a quarterback who has run more consistently than passed for the second straight game. Expect the game plan for Miami to keep Drones in the pocket and force him to pass.

After throwing for 322 yards with two TDs and one interception in the season opener, Drones has passed for fewer than 200 yards in each of the past three games. Drones has completed 56.76 of his passes for 443 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions with 190 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the last three games.

Drones had 12 carries for 117 running yards and one TD in the 37-17 Virginia Tech win over Old Dominion two weeks ago and nine for 60 against Rutgers last week. Through the first two weeks of this season, Drones had 31 carries for 32 yards. Miami should be able to turn Drones into a passer, like they did with Byrum Brown for South Florida last week.