In the exciting build-up to the Miami vs. FSU rivalry game, the focal point of discussion among Hurricane fans centers on the quarterback position. As the team faces a crucial decision on who will lead them against the Florida State Seminoles, the spotlight intensifies on Tyler Van Dyke. With a season marked by peaks and valleys, the question looms large: Is it time for Miami to move on from Tyler Van Dyke? Let me preface this by saying, it is not a personal thing before I begin, just a view from a reporter watching from on field level and throughout Van Dyke’s career.
The statistical journey of Tyler Van Dyke in the 2023 season is nothing short of a rollercoaster. Throwing for 2,057 yards and delivering 18 touchdowns in eight games, Van Dyke has displayed glimpses of brilliance. However, the glaring figure of 11 interceptions, with ten occurring in his last four starts, raises significant concerns about his decision-making and its ramifications for the team’s success. He has put Miami’s defense, which has been very good in 2023, in very tough situations, and Miami’s offense in droughts—a massive change from the hot start the offense got off to in their first four games of the season, which was highlighted by a huge game from Van Dyke who threw five touchdowns against a top-25 ranked Texas A&M Aggies.
In addition to Van Dyke’s struggles in reading zone coverage defenses and opposing teams dropping eight defenders in coverage with a three-man pass rush, Van Dyke has not found a way to respond, nor has his offensive coordinator, Shannon Dawson. This goes without saying that Miami’s offensive line unit ranks as one of the top 10 offensive lines grade-wise and statistically as a group in the country, and Van Dyke has had more than enough of a clean pocket in 2023.
The Van Dyke narrative extends beyond the current season, echoing the struggles of 2022 under former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. Hurricane fans can’t help but draw comparisons between the Tyler Van Dyke of today and the player who replaced the injured D’eriq King in the 2021 season under former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee who is now the head coach of the SMU Mustangs. In that remarkable eight-game stretch during the 2021 season, Van Dyke was not only a beacon of hope but also a player deemed to have Heisman Trophy potential. Fast forward to 2023, and the veteran quarterback appears to be grappling with a crisis of confidence, struggling to recapture the magic that once made him a first-round mock draft candidate.
While the argument could be made that head coach Mario Cristobal should have taken a knee to secure a victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in October, that can’t be said without the factor that Miami wouldn’t have been in that situation if Van Dyke had not turned the ball over with a short field to the Yellow Jackets offense multiple times.
Miami held a 17-14 lead over the North Carolina Tar Heels earlier this season too, and it was squandered with a flat performance from Van Dyke in the third quarter. The defense does share some of the blame for that third-quarter collapse as well. Miami’s offense had only produced 47 yards of offense in the third quarter, and all four of their drives in the that period would comprise of a fumble, punt, interception, and a turnover on downs. While Miami’s offense did get it in gear in the fourth quarter, you can also make the case that most of that happened in what is called “garbage time” and when the game was well out of reach for the Hurricanes and Van Dyke against the Tar Heels. He would sit out the next game with a back, ribs, and right leg injury against Clemson. That is when freshman quarterback received his first collegiate start and helped lead Miami to a 28-20 double-overtime victory against the Clemson Tigers, whom the Hurricanes had not defeated since 2009 to that point.
Van Dyke would return for the Virginia game over two weeks since his injury and was deemed to be completely healthy without a hiccup. Yet, he struggled mightily against the Virginia Cavaliers, while throwing two interceptions, and the Hurricanes had to lean on a tremendous defensive effort and running backs Ajay Allen Jr. and Mark Fletcher Jr., with Fletcher Jr. scoring the game-winning touchdown in yet another overtime game. The game against NC State, where Van Dyke threw three interceptions and Miami was unable to score a single touchdown, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many after watching what appears to be a Miami’s defense at its peak get squandered, and it’s very apparent that the fan base has turned on Tyler Van Dyke.
The argument could be made that Tyler Van Dyke is on his third offensive coordinator in his collegiate career. But when you put on the tape, you can see a quarterback that is struggling to scan the field while staring down his receivers, despite having one of the cleanest pockets in the country with a top-shelf offensive line. It could seriously be something with Van Dyke’s mental state, and while we can’t read his mind, it is apparent that what was working before does not work now.
College football is a present and future business approach on the field, and Van Dyke has been given plenty of opportunities to come back from the mishaps. Now, after setting the table and the cliff notes that have led to this point, if Miami moves on from Tyler Van Dyke, what would come next? Enter freshman quarterback Emory Williams or redshirt freshman quarterback Jacurri Brown? The likelihood is much higher that it will be Emory Williams who has firmly held the backup quarterback position this season, while Brown has not entered a single game.
While it may be a tall task for Williams to come in and lead a team as a freshman, Miami is not getting better results than his performance against Clemson just a few weeks ago from Van Dyke now either. In fact, Van Dyke is making much more mistakes in comparison—mistakes that you would not expect from a fourth-year player, especially at quarterback. You have to take into consideration a coach’s thought process of having their veteran in the game as their best chance of winning against their biggest rival. But at what cost if he does not turn it around as they have hoped or maybe still are hoping? And at some point as a coach, you have to weigh if the return of keeping a struggling Van Dyke in the lineup would even benefit the team at all. It’s worth mentioning that Florida State’s defense does have a tendency to match up in man-to-man concepts with their defensive backfield, which would be a strong suit for Van Dyke when watching game film throughout his career, and that is surely something the Miami coaches will factor in today with their decision as well.
Football is a momentum game, and if the locker room can’t rally around Van Dyke, they have to look to someone that they can. Let us know who you want starting at quarterback for the Hurricanes this afternoon at Doak Campbell Stadium as they take on the Florida State Seminoles at 3:30 p.m. EST.
