"Just don't play at all": Shannon Sharpe rips Cam Ward after his controversial decision to sit out 2nd half of Pop-Tarts Bowl

Quarterback Cam Ward played a big part in helping the Miami Hurricanes have their most successful season since their conference championship game appearance in 2017. While the team fell short of making the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and College Football Playoff, it was still a hugely successful season for the Hurricanes.

As a result, it was not a surprise the No. 13 Hurricanes were in one of the most anticipated non-playoff bowl games of the year, the Pop-Tarts Bowl. In the game, Cam Ward and his squad faced the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones. It proved to be an exciting game as the Cyclones narrowly defeated the Hurricanes 42-41.

While fans were excited to see Ward play even though he is projected to be a top pick in the 2025 NFL draft, he made a controversial decision. In the first half, he had a vintage performance, throwing for 190 yards and three touchdowns to give the Hurricanes a 31-28 lead. However, he opted to sit out the rest of the game, and as a result, backup Emory Williams took the field.

On Sunday morning, media personality and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Shannon Sharpe released an episode of his podcast, "Nightcap." On the podcast, Sharpe criticized Cam Ward for sitting out the second half, saying he should have skipped the entire game if that was his intention.

"My thing is just don't play at all. I think scouts and pro personnel are not going to look favorably on this decision," Sharpe said (7:42). "Because they're saying if you're there, you took yourself out of the game.

"He said (coach Mario Cristobal), 'All meeting with players and decisions like that are made in private, we keep them in private. So I prefer not to answer any questions as it relates to that.' If that was his decision, he would've said, 'that's my decision.' Clearly it was not his decision."

It is clear that Shannon Sharpe believes the decision to sit out was Cam Ward's alone.

It is not uncommon for prospective top NFL draft picks like Cam Ward to sit out of bowl games

Often, projected top picks in the NFL draft opt to sit out of non-playoff bowl games. Many will do that to prepare for the scouting combine and to avoid injuries.

So, fans were excited to see that Cam Ward would play on Saturday. However, the decision to play part of the game and then sit out the rest is not one that Shannon Sharpe or the Hurricanes fan base has supported.

Coach Mario Cristobal was asked about the decision to sit out and said:

"I think all meetings with players and decisions like that, we make them private and keep them private. So I'll prefer not to answer questions as it relates to that. I know he played his best while he was in there."

Cristobal avoided commenting on the matter other than that short response.