Warren Moon gives Cam Ward his blessing to wear No. 1 jersey - ESPN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It's not often that a Hall of Famer makes a guest appearance at an introductory news conference, but that's exactly what Warren Moon did before the Tennessee Titans introduced Cam Ward to the local media.

Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi revealed the surprise Friday as he kicked off the news conference.

Ward stood at the lectern as Moon emerged from a side snack room off the third-floor news conference area with a No. 1 Titans jersey in his hand. Moon once wore the No.1 jersey for the Houston Oilers before the organization moved to Nashville in 1997 and retired the number during a halftime ceremony in 2006.

«I just came here because I got a lot of respect for this young man right here,» Moon said. «I wore the No. 1 for a lot of different reasons and for a long time starting back in 1976. Now I'm part of the Titans family and my Oiler jersey will probably never be worn again. But the Tennessee Titans jersey is going to be worn by Cam to kind of revitalize it.»

Ward elected to wear No. 1 when he transferred to Washington State after wearing No. 7 at Incarnate Word. Ward also wore No. 1 at Miami last year, when he became a Heisman Trophy finalist and won the Davey O'Brien Award for the best collegiate quarterback.

Ward, 22, grew up an hour outside of Houston in West Columbia, Texas, but is too young to have seen Moon play quarterback for the Oilers. Ward said he first got familiar with Moon during the draft process in February.

«I didn't know much about him,» Ward said. «Before I reached out to him, I watched his film to make sure he's legit — and yeah, he was legit!

»I'm trying to get up to his level one day. He's a Hall of Famer and for me to be in that same number is an honor."

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