Miami QB, Canes, watched announcers ‘talk crap’ about UM after UNC rout. They’ll meet soon
The young quarterback entrusted by Manny Diaz with the future of the Miami Hurricanes offense spoke to the media after practice Tuesday for the first time in person.
Second-year freshman Tyler Van Dyke had a fresh haircut, a fresh role but the same calm demeanor.
“Honestly, it feels the same as every week,’’ said Van Dyke, who Monday was named as D’Eriq King’s permanent replacement — beginning 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the University of North Carolina — when Diaz announced that King would undergo season-ending surgery to repair his right shoulder. “I’ve been preparing like I’m the starter every week this year. Nothing is going to change. We’ll get the job done.’’
Added Van Dyke: “No matter who is at quarterback, we have to win. And right now it’s me.’’
When asked how integral the upcoming game would be, considering the pressure Diaz and the program are under, the sturdy 6-4, 224-pound Van Dyke mentioned that the Hurricanes had just watched as a team part of last year’s regular-season-ending 62-26 defeat to the Tar Heels.
“We actually, before we came out, just watched the end of the game — the announcers talking crap about us, or whatever,’’ Van Dyke said. “We’re going to have that in the back of our minds. We’re going to get revenge on them for sure.”
Then he said almost inaudibly, “We’ve got to.”
UM, UNC struggling
The Hurricanes (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) and Tar Heels (3-3, 2-3) are each struggling this season, with Van Dyke learning on the go. He already had grasped the Canes’ reins in his first career start Sept. 25 against Central Connecticut State when King was sidelined with his injury. The training wheels churned as Van Dyke went 10 of 11 for 270 yards and three touchdowns in a 69-0 UM victory.
The Tar Heels are 49th nationally in passing yards allowed (212.3 allowed per game) and 65th in total defense (371.5). Miami is 32nd in passing offense (277.4 yards per game) and 45th in total offense (438.4). Receiver Charleston Rambo leads UM with 31 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’ve been playing with Tyler since spring,’’ Rambo said. “If anything, he’s blending in more and feeling more confident with his receivers.’’
When Van Dyke started his second game Sept. 30 against Virginia, and highly rated true freshman backup Jake Garcia was out with an ankle injury, Van Dyke started shakily with five completions in his first 17 attempts, but finished with a 10-of-12 flourish. He even scrambled for a 24-yard touchdown run with about nine minutes left. UM eventually lost 30-28 when its 33-yard field-goal attempt hit the left upright as time expired.
“I don’t know if people know it or not, but I can make plays on my feet,’’ Van Dyke said Tuesday. “If stuff breaks down, or quarterback draw, whatever, I’m confident in that. We feel really confident in our game plan. So, yeah.”
First road start
On Saturday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Van Dyke will have graduated to big-boy wheels when he makes his first road start. He’s 25 of 41 (61 percent) for 473 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions this season, and said he’s been focusing on “pocket presence” during these open weeks since Virginia. “I was in the pocket sometimes throwing the ball, trying to make plays, doing too much instead of trying to find the checkdown,’’ he said.
Van Dyke acknowledged that the game began to click for him after offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Rhett Lashlee approached him after the shaky first half against Virginia.
“Coach Lashlee said, ‘You’re doing a great job. Just keep doing it. Keep your head up. I have full belief in you.’ That really helped me with my confidence,’’ Van Dyke, from Glastonbury, Connecticut, said. “My teammates were there for me supporting me when I was down on the sideline. I really feel like that amped me up going into the second half.’’
Prep career
Initially rated a three-star prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings and four-star prospect by Rivals when he committed to UM in April 2019, Van Dyke became a consensus four-star quarterback by the time he graduated from Suffield Academy. He was rated the No. 2 pro-style quarterback and top player in Connecticut by ESPN and No 9 pro-style signal-caller by 247Sports. He finished his senior prep year with 2,260 passing yards and 21 touchdowns on 123 completions (61.5 percent) in 200 pass attempts, with six interceptions.
His prep career stats: 290 of 497 (58.4) for 4,643 yards and 39 touchdowns, with 16 interceptions.
Lashlee praised Van Dyke during a Zoom videoconference Monday, saying “he made some really big plays” in the fourth quarter against Virginia, and that “he’ll get better and better each week.’’
“Tyler has really done a nice job,’’ Lashlee said. “He’s a very diligent person. He’s very conscientious. He’s gonna study hard the game plan each week. He’s gonna be prepared. It’s really important to him. Sometimes he’s even too hard on himself because he wants to be perfect. But the guys have really rallied around him.
“Playing against Central Connecticut was good, to get out and really play tackle football for the first time in two years. And then against a team like Virginia to play in a conference game, you saw from the first to the second to the third to even the fourth quarter, he really grew up...’’
UM backups
So, who are Van Dyke’s backups now that Garcia is out? On the depth chart released this week, UM listed walk-on Ryan Rizk and scholarship player Peyton Matocha with an “OR” between their names. Matocha, a 6-4, 200-pound third-year redshirt freshman, played in the fourth quarter of the Central Connecticut State game but did not attempt a pass. He was a three-star recruit out of Houston St. Thomas High.
Rizk is a 6-1, 196-pound fourth-year redshirt sophomore out of Delray Beach American Heritage. He got his first college action at the end of the CCSU game, but recorded no stats.
“Both those guys now have to be ready,’’ Lashlee said. “Yes, Ryan is a walk-on. Got a lot of confidence in him. He’s really smart. He’s going to be a doctor someday. I’m probably going to be calling him asking him for money or something at some point. I trust him from that standpoint. He’s really smart. He knows what to do. He knows where to go with the ball. He gets it out of his hands quick.
“And then a guy like Peyton Matocha is pretty athletic. He can run and make some plays with his feet. So, we’re down to three right now and those guys just gotta be ready.”
Diaz said Monday that “the key to quarterback play” is everyone else playing well around him.”
“He just has to do his job and I think that’s what everybody respects about Tyler. Tyler is a no-nonsense type of guy [with] a businessman approach. I’ve watched the guy run an offseason program. He’s a guy everybody can depend on because I know what he says, he’s going to do.’’
This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 4:02 PM.
