Miami’s Cristobal on why Van Dyke is still QB1 and if he would consider changing offense
After a tough first third of the regular season, Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal announced at a news conference that Tyler Van Dyke is still QB1 and will start against the North Carolina Tar Heels at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) at Hard Rock Stadium.
The game against UNC (4-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is the first of eight consecutive ACC matchups for UM (2-2, 0-0) that will run through the end of the regular season.
“Tyler is the starter on Saturday,’’ Cristobal told reporters Monday afternoon. “We made that clear.”
Van Dyke, a third-year sophomore, hasn’t been the same this season and had the worst performance in his college career Sept. 24 in a 45-31 loss to Middle Tennessee State. He has been the subject of scrutiny and debate over whether he should or will be replaced by redshirt freshman backup Jake Garcia.
Cristobal said Van Dyke approached the past bye week with “a great competitive response.”
“He’s approached it with energy, with ownership, with honest and transparency, which we would expect of our guys, and worked really hard to have a real good week of practice.”
Earlier Monday morning on WQAM, Cristobal said that Van Dyke “has played great football here for a long time and you don’t turn on your quarterback because we had a bad day as a program.”
Added Cristobal in the afternoon: “When a guy has played as many games as he has... where a guy that works hard like that, has proven himself, you always give him the benefit of the doubt. You dive into the tape and find ways to get him better as opposed to kind of flying around and bashing and looking for critiques and errors. Our job is to make sure guys get better. From the supporting cast to technique to what we call and how we call it, everything’s always assessed.”
Van Dyke, who threw interceptions on his first two passes last game, finished 16 of 32 for 138 yards, one touchdown and the picks — one of them returned for a touchdown. He is now 70 of 118 for 809 yards and four touchdowns, with three interceptions. He has been sacked six times.
Mechanics/system
Cristobal said Van Dyke’s situation is not related to mechanics.
“I wouldn’t say it’s mechanical. We’ve got to do a really good job of cleaning things up for him. And we’ve got to do a really good job of the supporting cast. Quarterback is the hardest position, right? So, we’ve got to make it as — it’s never comfortable— but as clean and as clear for him to operate at a high level, especially when you’re in a new system.
“...It’s a rough game, and he’s had a really good week since then. And he’s got as much or more pride than anyone I’ve ever been around and we have all the confidence in the world in him.”
When asked if UM could tailor the offense more to the up-tempo, no-huddle spread in which Van Dyke thrived last season under former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, Cristobal said UM runs “a power spread offense’’ and “sometimes we have condensed sets. sometimes we’re spread out.
“We have some tempo plays. We’re not a fully committed tempo offense, where you’re running a play every 12 to 14 seconds. That’s not where we are right now.
“We look at and consider anything that helps us move the ball and score points more efficiently. You can’t take anything off the table. You also can’t get in a place where you’re just trying to scrap things that you can get better at. You have to find exactly to the best of your ability what works best for your guys.”
Jake Garcia
Garcia, who replaced Van Dyke in the third quarter last game, finished the game 10 of 19 for 161 yards and no touchdowns, but led the Canes on two touchdown drives. He is now 19 of 28 for 169 yards and no touchdowns, with no interceptions. He has been sacked twice.
Cristobal said he has “the world of confidence” in Garcia. “We feel we have two great quarterbacks and a third young one [Jacurri Brown] that is developing into a really good one as well.
“Jake showed that he’s a really good player. He showed it in high school. He showed it in opportunities here. So a ton of confidence in him and a super bright future for him as well.’’
Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis also spoke Monday, and praised Garcia, stressing, however, that Van Dyke “is our quarterback.’’
“Jake’s attitude hasn’t changed since I’ve gotten here,’’ Gattis said. “He’s just a phenomenal kid to coach, and he has so much fun playing the game of football. I don’t think Jake has reflected on last game at any point. Jake is a true professional in what he does. He shows up every day prepared as if he’s the starting quarterback. If anything ever happened, obviously we’ve got tremendous confidence and faith in him. He’s been the same even-keeled type person that plays with tremendous energy and passion and players really respond to him and like him.”
Gattis said Van Dyke ‘had a really good week bouncing back. Tyler is a great kid, great leader, great person...Players respect him. I don’t think there’s any cloud hanging over him.’’
