UM’s Van Dyke overcomes life’s adversities
When University of Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke was a youngster “and complaining about stuff,” he said his mother, Amy, would handle it in a hurry — just like she did 22 years ago when she was nine months pregnant with Tyler and went into labor in the middle of taking the bar exam.
“She’d say, ‘I took the bar exam and passed it while my water broke!’ ” Van Dyke, about to embark on his fourth season at UM after a grueling, injury-marred 2022, told the Miami Herald. “I grew up hearing that all the time. It’s definitely cool. Motivated me not to complain as much and do stuff right.”
Lawyer Amy Leete Van Dyke is now the principal counsel for Eversource Energy, the electric company that provides energy for Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. And she tells the story that likely is one of a kind.
Van Dyke already was licensed to practice law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but needed to take the essay portion of the Connecticut bar because she and her husband, Bill, now an actuary for Deloitte Consulting, had moved to Connecticut.
Three hours into the six-hour exam at a hotel conference center, Van Dyke’s water broke during a noon recess trip to the bathroom. She called her doctor, who talked her through the contractions before she went back to the exam proctors to inquire if they would make her retake the entire exam should she head to the hospital. They told her If she finished she would be fine. If she left, they would disqualify the first three hours.
“I had just gotten a job at a Connecticut law firm and I said to myself, ‘I am not taking another bar exam,’ she told the Herald. “My doctor said, ‘I think you’re OK to finish.’ So my mother came and sat in a separate hotel room and they sat me in another room and at 1 p.m. I took the rest of the test with proctors checking on me like every 15 to 20 minutes to make sure I was OK.”
Van Dyke finished the exam at 4 p.m. and “was 5 1⁄2 centimeters dilated by the time I got to the hospital.”
Baby Tyler, nearly 9 pounds and 21 1⁄2 inches long, was born at 10:30 p.m. that night on March 1, 2001.
And yes, mom passed the bar.
“I’ll never let him forget it,” she said, laughing. “Life has its adversities, and he knows that now.” Does he ever.
After a redshirt year in 2020 in which he played two games behind Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award semifinalist D’Eriq King, Van Dyke’s career at UM went from exhilarating heights in 2021 to depressing depths in 2022 to healthy and happy and ready to reemerge as a junior in 2023.
First, a look back:
2021, 2022
Led by then-coach Manny Diaz and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, in 2021 Van Dyke played in 10 games and started the final nine, completing 202 of 324 passes (62.3 percent) for 2,931 yards and 25 touchdowns, with just six interceptions. He finished eighth nationally in passing yards per completion (14.5), 11th in passing efficiency (160.1) and 14th in passing yards per game (293.1) as part of the nation’s No. 10 passing offense.
In each of Van Dyke’s final six games of 2021, he passed for at least 300 yards and at least three touchdowns, becoming the first Power 5 quarterback to do so in a single season since LSU’s Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow in 2019.
Van Dyke was named 2021 ACC Rookie of the Year and eventually was included in way-too-earlytype first-round projections for the 2023 NFL Draft. But reality, as in a new, 2022 offensive coordinator (Josh Gattis) whose system didn’t jive with his players; three consecutive early season losses; and a crushing blow to his throwing shoulder in a 45-21 home loss Oct. 22 to Duke, detoured the dream. The Canes hit 3-3 in an already downer season with five games left on their schedule.
Turns out Van Dyke sustained a third-degree AC joint sprain and sat out much of the second half of the 2022 season in significant pain. But he still tried to play, starting the Nov. 5 Florida State game and lasting eight passes, grimacing with each successive throw before being pulled early in the eventual 45-3 loss.
“I didn’t throw one pass the week of Florida
State,” Van Dyke said. “I tried. They gave me a couple shots later in the week, but they wore off quick.”
Van Dyke sat out the next two games, and with a bowl berth on the line, started the season finale at home against Pittsburgh. He lasted only one drive, exiting after he was hit hard and threw an interception in the red zone. UM lost 42-16 and finished 5-7.
Van Dyke’s 2022 numbers: 160 of 253 (63.2 percent) for 1,835 yards and 10 touchdowns, with five interceptions. He was sacked 13 times.
“At that point I couldn’t fall on the ground at all without crucial pain,” he said. “But we wanted to get to a bowl. The whole thing was tough — physically, going through pain and trying to play. Mentally, knowing that if I took another hit it probably would have been worse. I tried to protect myself as much as I could, but I was also trying to help my teammates win games.”
Van Dyke didn’t need surgery and said he’s now totally healed. The bony protrusion near his right shoulder is a painless remnant from the injury. “My shoulder feels good,” he said. “I just got a bone sticking out. It is what it is.”
His family includes younger sister Hannah, who plays Division III basketball for St. Lawrence College in Canton, New York, near the Canadian border. Van Dyke still considers Glastonbury, Connecticut, home, though his family moved to Southwick, Massachusetts, near the Connecticut border, in 2020.
COORDINATORS, RUMORS
The upcoming season appears to be a promising one for the Hurricanes.
The 6-4, 226-pound
Van Dyke now has what is projected to be among the nation’s elite offensive lines protecting him, is down to 12.3 percent body fat and is throwing missiles again to a deeper receiving corps. Coach Mario Cristobal, who took over in 2022, fired Gattis and hired highly regarded offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach Shannon Dawson — but not before UM followers wondered if the rumors were true that Van Dyke might transfer to Alabama.
“This is where I wanted to be,” he said, acknowledging there was uncertainty not initially knowing who Cristobal would choose. “I trusted
Coach Cristobal and he brought in great players, great coaches.’’ He said “the atmosphere, the rich tradition, the people, the talent around you and the ability to win games” are what brought him to Miami, and he didn’t want to leave.
“Tyler’s a Miami guy through and through,” assured Cristobal, who brought in a coordinator whose style is well-suited for a smart, veteran signal-caller like Van Dyke.
Dawson’s offense, in which players often huddle, is a “really good fit” for everyone, Van Dyke said. “It fits all our personalities and the way we play football — being explosive, being fast, mixing up tempo, being able to get out of sticky situations. changing plays, changing routes.
“He’s really good for the guys in the meeting rooms, too, not being so serious all the time and having a positive attitude.”
JIU-JITSU
Asked about the fear factor involved with last season’s injury and what he could do to prevent another mishap, Van Dyke spoke about the UM staff taking him this summer to a jiu-jitsu facility run by three brothers “who taught me how to roll and fall.”
“They came down here three or four times and I practice three times a week. My body awareness is a lot better. I feel a lot better rolling onto the ground. So, if I get tackled I can flip over and protect my shoulder and protect my head by bracing my neck a little.”
Dawson, who has grown close to Van Dyke, said he will be on the sideline during games so he can communicate with the quarterback during drives. “The biggest reason,’’ Dawson said, “is in between drives I like to look in your eyes, have conversations with you, see your demeanor and see how you’re doing.’’
Dawson said the martial arts drills should help, but that it’s also “the quarterback’s job to get rid of the ball before they get to you.”
“When you’re extending plays or running with the football, your job is to protect yourself. There’s a growth process for quarterbacks to understand when to get down. Ultimately, you’ve got to know when the journey is over.”
Also this offseason, Van Dyke spent time being coached by Quarterback Country’s David Morris in Mobile. Former UM quarterback Malik Rosier also coaches for Quarterback Country.
Van Dyke said he worked on “mobility in the pocket, trying to avoid defenders and extending plays.”
“He’s such a rhythmic, pure, prototypical passer,” Morris said by phone. “So much of playing this position is rhythm and timing. Another part is training to be twitchy in a small, compressed area that is spontaneous. Just because you’re a rhythmic, pocket passer doesn’t mean you can’t have credible athleticism in that pocket. That meant a lot to him this offseason.
“You look back two years ago and he had an off-the-charts 5-to-1 touchdown-interception ratio, and last year he’s 2-to-1. I think he’s had his taste of the roller coaster of this position and now is in a place to have his best season yet.”
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST
Early last season, Van Dyke began speaking regularly to UM sports psychologist Eric Goldstein. He values their interaction.
“As a human, you sometimes think about the worst scenarios,” said Van Dyke, who said he sometimes worries but tries “not to focus on the future.”
“Honestly, just talking about things usually helps.”
He said he stays off X (formerly Twitter) and almost all social media unless his NIL deals call for him to post something. His marketing agent, Shawn O’Dare, is with Rosenhaus Sports.
“It can be a bad place,” Van Dyke said of X.
Van Dyke lives with his girlfriend, former UM golfer Morgan Pankow, and plays golf as often as possible. He has a low handicap, he said, and the game relaxes him. One day, “maybe after football,” he said he’d consider a future playing professionally. “It would be fun,” he said, citing 73 as his best score, “which is good for a football player.”
Van Dyke, an honor roll student who is polite and soft spoken off the field, is driven and forceful on it. He has made it a point to bond with the offense and defense alike. The offensive linemen especially appreciated when he treated them to dinner at Texas de Brazil, where they gorged on unlimited beef, chicken and everything else they could. One after another, Van Dyke’s teammates this fall camp praised his work ethic, caring and devotion to the program. The youngest receivers, who just began to work with him in the spring, are enamored of his arm.
“I love the balls he throws!” true freshman slot receiver Ray Ray Joseph told the Herald. “Oh, my goodness! He’s just got the most beautiful passes. They’re so easy to catch. Everything is so smooth when it comes from him.”
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UM quarterback Tyler Van Dyke
IGNORED
Others aren’t as enthusiastic.
After last season’s collapse, the Canes have been understandably bypassed in the major preseason rankings and magazines, with Van Dyke going from an ACC darling to barely a mention.
“Nobody is talking about me. Nobody is talking about us,’’ said Van Dyke, who does not want to look ahead to any NFL projections. “And that’s perfectly OK. I’m not worried about that.
You’ve got to go and prove it on the field.”
He said his personal goals this season are the same as his team goals: “To win, that’s pretty much it. Whatever I can do personally to help my team win, that’s my goal. Make smart plays and put the ball in the right hands.
“We’re not worried about, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to win the national championship’ or ‘We’re going to win the ACC.’ We’re taking it game by game, one play at a time. Work as hard as you can during that play and everything will take care of itself.”
Van Dyke’s mother described her son — set to earn his undergraduate degree in finance in December — as “a pensive thinker.”
“He can be reserved,” she said, “but when he has to be vocal, he’s vocal. He always led by example, and he’s a doer. Just a loyal, all-around great, loving kid.”
She said UM has “the best medical staff down there,” and her son is ready to return to the field, even if his journey has been one crazy ride for the family.
“It’s been high, it’s been low and at times it’s been hell,” she said. “But we’re just so proud of him.’’
Susan Miller Degnan: 305-376-3366, @smillerdegnan