Everybody loves a good underdog story in sports. And in Super Bowl LVIII there is one story that stands out among all the rest in the NFL’s championship game this year. 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward.
Ward is now six years into his NFL career and has never failed to reach (at least) the conference championship game. He’s made it to three Super Bowls with two different teams now, and won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs, defeating the 49ers 31-20.
That hardly sounds like an underdog story at this point, but his journey to NFL success and Super Bowl stardom was that of an absolute long shot who followed a nearly impossible path to lead him to where he is today.
Unwanted Recruit to Super Bowl Star
As a kid, Ward’s father was in prison. His mother Tanya did everything she could to take care of Charvarius and his siblings, but times were often tough. Ward would actually work some odd jobs here and there to help pay for rent growing up.
Due to a medical issue with his hip, Ward actually spent significant time on crutches and in a wheelchair, leading him to delay much of any athletic involvement until late high school.
In fact, Ward only played one year of high school football, which didn’t help his chances in getting recruited to play at the college level. And when he graduated he was just 155 pounds, partly because he was still just 17 years old, having skipped his sophomore year as an incredibly bright student.
Despite receiving All-region honors and being voted as the best defensive back at McComb High School, Division-I football teams completely ignored Ward as a recruit. That led him to pursue attending Hinds Community College, where he hoped to dominate the competition for a shot at better football opportunities.
While at Hinds Community College, Ward caught the eye of coach Steve Ellis (now Louisville’s defensive backs coach) who was the defensive coordinator for Middle Tennessee State at the time.
Ellis’ first time ever seeing Ward in person left a strong impression. Ward was playing pickup basketball and leaped for a rebound. As he did, Ward jumped over multiple players, peaking well above the rim, and finished with a violent tomahawk dunk. Soon after that coach Ellis recruited him to join the Blue Raiders at MTSU.
For those unfamiliar with coach Ellis, he has one of the most proven defensive back development track records in the nation. On top of Charvarius Ward, Ellis has also coached all-pro safety Kevin Byard, Broncos CB Ja’Quan McMillian, Eagles safety Reed Blankenship, and most recently Louisville CB Jarvis Brownlee who is rising quickly up 2024 NFL Draft boards after dominating at the Senior Bowl.
Once at MTSU, it didn’t take Ward long to make an impact. By Week 5 of his first season (2016) with the Blue Raiders he was already playing the majority of defensive snaps. That season Ward allowed just 13 receptions on the entire year, with opposing quarterbacks completing less than 42% of their passes when targeting his coverage assignment.
His 2017 wasn’t quite as dominant on a per play basis, but he was MTSU’s CB1 playing over 800 snaps, defending eight passes, and allowing less than a 58% completion rate when targeted. However, despite two great seasons for MTSU Ward wasn’t even invited to the NFL Combine.
If you want a taste for how absurd his NFL Combine snub was that draft cycle just check out some of his 2017 highlights in the video below.
But Ward didn’t let his lack of an NFL Combine get him down for too long. When it came time to prove to NFL scouts that he possessed sufficient athleticism Ward ran a 4.44-second forty-yard dash and leaped 11 feet in the broad jump, showing incredible burst. And yet, even after that strong showing he went undrafted in 2018.
The Dallas Cowboys initially signed him as an undrafted free agent, but Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach just had to have him on the team. Veach’s move to trade for him right before the 2018 season would pave the way for Ward’s now quite illustrious career.
As our very own Charles Goldman noted back in 2018, it didn’t take very long for Ward to get on the field for the Chiefs. By week four Ward had earned his place on the active roster.
#Chiefs trade acquisition CB Charvarius Ward is active for the first time. 6th round draft pick Tremon Smith is inactive.
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) October 1, 2018
Even after he was on the active roster Ward was still relegated to special teams for the Chiefs until Week 16 when Kendall Fuller was forced to miss time with a finger injury. Ward immediately pounced on the starting opportunity, tallying eight tackles and defending a pass against the Seahawks.
Since that first start Ward logged 55 more games with the Chiefs. Super Bowl LVIII will be his 40th game with the 49ers. In the six seasons since his rookie year Ward has been to six conference championship games, three Super Bowls, and won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs.
Ward has now posted three consecutive seasons with double-digit passes defended, but in 2023 he took it to another level. Ward led the league in passes defended, snagged a career best five interceptions, earned second team All-Pro honors, and landed a spot in the Pro Bowl for the first time ever.
Now this former underdog turned NFL superstar has a chance to win his second Super Bowl, capping off what could go down as the defining season in a potential Hall of Fame career.
All he and the San Francisco 49ers have to do now is simply shut down both the NFL’s most prolific passer and perhaps the greatest tight end in league history.
Charvarius Ward’s story is written like a movie and I can’t wait to see how this one ends in Super Bowl LVIII.
