Because all parents like to hear praise of their kids, Casey Rogers turned to the people next to him in the crowd and paid one of the highest compliments to Cam Ward.
The moment happened Oct. 15, 2022, when Ward was quarterbacking Washington State against Oregon State.
Rogers, an Oregon star at the time, was doing some advance scouting during his team’s bye week.
It was long before the possibility arose of Rogers and Ward becoming Giants teammates in 2025.
“For some reason, I’ve watched more Cam Ward games than any other college quarterback,” Rogers said. “I actually sat next to his parents once, and I told them, ‘Your son is a heck of a quarterback.’ I played against him twice, and I remember after the first time telling him, ‘You might be one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever faced.’ ”
The Giants have two defensive rookies in the locker room — Rogers and UCLA product Darius Muasau — who possess the inside knowledge that the fan base is craving right now because they both faced Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders last season.
Ward and Sanders are the consensus top two quarterbacks available in the 2025 draft, where the Giants could be picking No. 1.
Rogers and Muasau, whose teams went a combined 4-0 in those 2023 college games, took a break from preparation to play major roles for an injury-riddled defense Sunday against the Ravens to share their recollections with The Post.
“Shedeur brings the best out of everyone on his team,” Muasau said. “He just seems like a special player. He’s one of those guys that you can’t really game plan for because he’s always going to do everything right no matter what situation he’s put in.”
The combination of the breakup of the Pac-12 and movement in the transfer portal put Sanders in the Big 12 and Ward in the ACC (as a transfer to Miami) this season.
Ward earned a spot as a Heisman Trophy finalist — a long way from starting his career as a zero-star recruit in the FCS ranks at Incarnate Word — and Sanders helped his top receiver (two-way standout Travis Hunter) earn a place as a finalist.
The Giants, who have no quarterbacks under contract for next season, had heavy scouting presences at Miami and Colorado games played over past month.
Rogers — who coincidentally was just in the crowd again for Ward’s could-be final game for Miami while visiting his father in Syracuse over Thanksgiving weekend — and Muasau can guess what the notes might say.
“Cam is a guy a lot of people counted out and no one really knew much about, and he’s made a way for himself,” Rogers said, thinking back to Ward’s 468-yard performance against Oregon in 2023.
“He reminded me a lot of a Justin Fields-type body. His legs are huge, and he’s not going down on first contact. To add on top of that, the way he moves throughout the pocket, the way he escapes makes it that much harder.”
Muasau added: “It seems so nonchalant — like everything comes easy to him. Just a natural athlete.”
Accuracy was the big talking point in the scouting reports on Sanders.
“Not just from our one game, but his ability to extend plays with his feet and he’s good at putting the ball on the dot as a pocket passer,” Muasau said. “Even when he’s on the run, he’s accurate. I’m expecting a lot from him coming into the draft.”
The face of the Giants — rookie receiver Malik Nabers — called both Sanders and Ward “amazing players” earlier this week, and Ward returned the praise Friday on Heisman eve by teasing the possibility of what it would be like to team up.
Nabers and Sanders first met in the finals of a 7-on-7 football recruiting camp as high schoolers.
The Giants (2-11) have an NFL-best 41 percent chance of securing the No. 1 pick in the draft, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The Raiders (2-11) pose the biggest threat, and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders — the Hall of Fame cornerback and Shedeur’s dad — recently joked that he wants both his sons playing under head coach Antonio Pierce (a former Giants linebacker).
One win by either team in any of the final four games could significantly alter draft position, given there are six other 3-10 teams lurking.
“Those two are elite quarterbacks,” Rogers said, “so it will be cool to see where they end up and the success they have.”
Maybe in New York, maybe not.
