Tyler Van Dyke had one of best Canes QB years ever. His encore will define Cristobal’s Year 1 | Opinion
READ MORE
College football 2022 season preview
The Mario Cristobal era has officially begun at the University of Miami after the Hurricanes threw a boatload of cash at the former Oregon coach in the hopes the former UM standout will be able to help Miami return to its glory days.
Expand All
A year ago at this time we barely knew who Tyler Van Dyke was and then, by fate and happenstance, suddenly we did. But what we saw him do last season has never been fully appreciated as he leads the Miami Hurricanes again.
Why is because an unprecedented flurry of tumult ended last season for the UM football program.
A loss to rival Florida State begat the departure of longtime athletic director Blake James, a 7-5 finish and no poll ranking led to the firing of coach Manny Diaz, and then COVID-19 issues forced UM to withdraw from the Sun Bowl five days before kickoff. Amid all of the upheaval newly hired coach Mario Cristobal arrived from Oregon, arrived home, a former championship-era Hurricanes player back to lead a long-hoped-for return to glory. The latest (would-be) savior.
Lost in it all, or at least insufficiently appreciated and savored, was this:
Van Dyke, out of nowhere, kissed by fate, had just fashioned one of the greatest individual seasons of any UM quarterback. Ever.
One that leads Cristobal, now, to say, “There’s not a better quarterback in the country.”
Van Dyke returns for his sophomore season to lead a team ranked No. 16 in the preseason Associated Press poll, and the only thing about our estimation of Van Dyke that has changed in the past year is ... well, everything.
One year ago all we knew was that Van Dyke was a big kid from, where was it, Connecticut? And that he had thrown all of two passes as a true freshman, both incomplete, in 2020. That was all we needed to know, because the starting job in 2021 was firmly in the grip of a veteran returning senior coming off a great season in D’Eriq King.
Then a shoulder injury suddenly ended King’s season three games in and in came Van Dyke, still a freshman because players were granted an extra year of eligibility due to the havoc COVID had wreaked in ‘20.
The rest was quite literally history because of the season Van Dyke had, one that held up against a roster of UM quarterback greats.
Across 85 previous seasons of football the Canes have had five quarterbacks who won national championships, three who were consensus All-Americans, two who won the Heisman Trophy and others who didn’t rate any of those distinctions yet set career records at the school. Oh, and then there was Jim Kelly, who didn’t do any of those things but is still a part of the lore.
Point is, The U has had some great QBs, but Van Dyke just had a season you could argue was greater individually, all around, than any of them.
With just nine starts he had 202 completions, 62.3% accuracy, 2,931 passing yards, 9.0 yards per attempt, a 25-6 TD-interception differential for a 4.17-1 ratio, and a 160.1 passer efficiency rating.
In UM history 34 quarterbacks have had 48 seasons with at least 200 pass attempts.
Here is how many times anybody has had a season with numbers at least that good in all six statistical categories:
Zero.
Quarterbacks who have fallen short include national champions Bernie Kosar, Steve Walsh, Craig Erickson, Gino Torretta and Ken Dorsey; All-Americans Vinny Testaverde, Walsh and Torretta; Heisman winners Testaverde and Torretta; and major career-records holder Brad Kaaya. Oh, and Kelly.
Van Dyke’s 202 completions have been topped 15 times because the others played full seasons. Likewise his 2,981 yards has been bettered 14 times. The completion percentage has been topped only six times. The yards per attempt, TD-INT ratio and passer rating have been bettered only twice each.
But nobody else has had all of Van Dyke’s numbers in a single season.
For easier comparison, here is how the seasons of the five championship-winning QBs stack up against Van Dyke’s 2021:
Year Player Comps. Pct. Yards YPA TD-Int/Ratio Rating
1983 Bernie Kosar 201 61.5 2,329 7.1 15-13 / 1.15-1 128.5
1987 Steve Walsh 176 59.1 2,249 7.5 19-7 / 2.71-1 138.8
1989 Craig Erickson 147 53.8 2,007 7.4 16-13 / 1.23-1 125.4
1991 Gino Torretta 205 55.3 3,095 8.3 20-8 / 2.50-1 138.8
2001 Ken Dorsey 184 57.9 2,652 8.3 23-9 / 2.56-1 146.1
2021 Tyler Van Dyke 202 62.3 2,931 9.0 25-6 / 4.17-1 160.1
“TVD,” as he has been nicknamed, had a run last season of 300-plus yards and three or more TD passes in six straight games. No one else in UM history had done that. The last Power Five conference QB to do it was Joe Burrow in 2019, who went on to be an overall No. 1 draft pick in the NFL.
And Van Dyke’s season was despite insufficient physicality up front that limited the running game.
“Kind of lacked that a little bit last year,” Van Dyke admits.
Cristobal swept out almost the entire offensive staff Diaz had, and the new head coach scoffs at the notion of a so-called sophomore slump for Van Dyke, calling that “about as superficial, as dangerous to the mindset as anything out there.”
Van Dyke has been working to make certain no slump is ahead.
“The hard work we put in during the summer is all flowing in,” he said during fall camp. “That spring and summer work really helps. Most people don’t see that.”
Van Dyke, asked about personal goals, notes that “explosive plays are a big thing in college football,” but says first, “I just want to win games and score points.”
Cristobal calls Van Dyke “very special,” and calls inheriting him “a tremendous blessing.” Says his young QB “doesn’t get enough credit for being a relentless competitor.”
In calling Van Dyke as good at the position as anyone in the country, Cristobal obviously would get an argument from fans of Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Alabama’s Bryce Young. Those are the two stars who top everybody’s projection for the Heisman race and the top of the 2023 NFL Draft.
But Van Dyke’s place in the pantheon, forged in less than one full season, is notable.
The third-year sophomore is on all of the major QB-award watch lists: Davey O’Brien, Maxwell, Walter Camp, Manning, and National Performer of the Year.
He was the ACC Rookie of the Year and preseason voting had him third favorite to be ACC Player of the Year this season.
Though a long shot, Van Dyke is tied for fourth in Heisman betting odds.
ESPN’s Todd McShay in his position rankings rates Van Dyke the fourth-best college quarterback in the nation. Only three other Canes make his top 10s: cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (fourth), offensive tackle Zion Nelson (ninth) and tight end Will Mallory (10th).
Notice there are no wide receivers on the list. Miami’s top wideouts last year have gone to the NFL in Charleston Rambo (Carolina Panthers) and Mike Harley (Cleveland Browns). It is up to Van Dyke to create new stars.
Several early 2023 mock drafts including McShay’s peg Van Dyke as a top-10 pick next spring — which is why he likely will bypass his junior and seniors seasons and go pro after this year.
NFL teams love his size (6-4, 224), arm strength and pocket mobility, but they’ll all have an eye out for improvement this season in other areas.
The question: The breakout season last year that may have been as good all-around as any by any Canes quarterback ever — was that Van Dyke’s ceiling, or just the beginning?
ESPN ranked college teams for this season by tiers. Eleven teams were in the top three tiers, then Miami was one of three teams in the fourth tier, which was labeled, “They’re (Maybe) Back!”
When will The U be “back” has been asked the past 20 years, since the last of five national championships, by fans longing for national prominence again. Agreement on what “back” means has been elusive. My definition: annually competing for the ACC championship, and high enough in the polls late each season to be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff.
Can Miami, starting out ranked 16th, get there this season?
The answer to that question depends on the answer to this one:
Was last year Tyler Van Dyke’s ceiling — or just the beginning?
This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 4:20 PM.
.jpg)
