Mel Kiper Jr. responded via social media on Wednesday to claims from Mario Cristobal that seem to have questioned Kiper’s credibility.
Kiper became a big storyline during the NFL Draft last month for how much he was backing Shedeur Sanders. Kiper had Sanders rated highly, and he was exasperated every time the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback was passed over in the draft.
Cristobal, who is the head coach at Miami, spoke at the ACC spring meetings on Wednesday about Kiper. The Hurricanes head coach said that he never spoke to Kiper regarding Cam Ward, who went No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans. The implication was that Kiper was so in the bag for Sanders that he had not done his full homework on Ward, who was Cristobal’s quarterback last season. Kiper didn’t like hearing that.
“Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didn’t speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts. Interesting isn’t it. And oh by the way, I didn’t speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I need another Orange Crush after this nonsense,” Kiper wrote on X Wednesday. An Orange Crush is a type of soda, for those unfamiliar.
Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didn’t speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts. Interesting isn’t it. And oh by the way, I didn’t speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I… https://t.co/bCfZbqBenV
— Mel Kiper Jr. (@MelKiperESPN) May 14, 2025
Kiper’s point is that there was never a Ward vs. Sanders thing. He liked Ward as a quarterback and ranked him highly. He just really liked Sanders and couldn’t believe how much he had slipped in the draft, so he made a point to address that on ESPN.
Kiper also was noting that he wasn’t slighting Ward by not speaking to his college coach, because he did the same with Sanders. Maybe talking with the college quarterback’s head coach is not a big part of Kiper’s evaluation process.
Ward began his college career at Incarnate Word before transferring to Washington State, where he played the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He spent last season at Miami and passed for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns while finishing fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. The Titans made him the No. 1 pick in the draft and are hoping he will be a franchise QB for the next decade-plus.
