Denzel Ward gave back to his mom in a big way for Mother's Day.
Ward, the Browns' rookie cornerback and fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft, told NFL Total Access on Tuesday night he's taken on his mom, Nicole's, mortgage as a token of appreciation.
"I'm paying for her house so she doesn't have to worry about that anymore," said Ward, who grew up in nearby Macedonia, which sits about 17 miles south of downtown Cleveland.
Ward lost his father, Paul Ward Jr., two springs ago and raised money at the combine this past winter for a scholarship named in his honor.
Ward is one of nine players drafted by the Browns last month. A homegrown talent, Ward starred at Nordonia High School and was an All-American at Ohio State before coming back to Cleveland.
In an introductory news conference, Ward said he's eager to make his mother, Nicole, and late father proud.
"Since my dad passed, it was definitely a difficult situation, but the way that my dad, my mom and my family raised me was to be very prideful, but like I said, I'm always saying that I'm very humble," he said. "That kind of carries me just of all what he has done in his life and it kind of motivates me and my family, and it motivates me to be the kind of man that I am today."
