Ward takes first official

Three-star cornerback Cornelius Ward has already taken his first official visit of the season. Heading into the trip, the 6-foot-1, 167-pounder was favoring Miami (Ohio), is that still the case after the trip?

"I went up to Miami (Ohio) on October 7th when they played Northern Illinois," he stated. "The visit was really good. They basically treated me like a king and we ate all 24-7. I felt like I probably gained 10-pounds on the trip.

"Everything about the trip was really good and I liked the town and environment. When I got there, I got a chance to talk around the university and check out the town a little bit. I also went to the weight room and stadium."

Ward enjoyed taking in the game between Miami (Ohio) and Northern Illinois.

"I felt like Miami played hard and I think they should have won," he said. "They only lost by three points and still played a really good game. I paid close attention to the secondary and it's really nice. They let them do a lot. I also like the atmosphere. It was so loud. I can't explain it in words, but I had a lot of fun there."

While on the visit, the No. 15 player in Maryland was able to talk with quite a few of the coaches.

"I talked to coach Cooper for a while and he talked about graduating early and possibly coming in to play early," he said. "Then I talked to the head coach, Shane Montgomery. It was real nice talking to him about the depth chart and defensive backs. He laid it out and said they have three active corners and three active safeties and then one redshirt at both positions. It really looks nice for me to enroll in January and come in to play."

Overall the Maryland prospect gave his visit to Miami (Ohio) a perfect 10.

"I'd say it was probably a 10," he said. "The only thing that could have made it better is if we went out the night after the game. I would say Miami is my leading candidate."

In the meantime, Ward is beginning to work on setting up more official visits.

"I'm feeling a really good vibe for Buffalo and I want to try to take a visit there next," he said. "Then I'm looking at going to Akron, Marshall and possibly Richmond.

"I just want to see similar things at these schools like I saw at Miami. They made it seem like I was part of the family and that's what I'm looking for. I'm also looking at the school, environment and more."