Van Dyke focused on team success, preparing for Ga. Tech
University of Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is a serious fellow these days.
Not that he was ever a happy-go-lucky extrovert, but the 17th-ranked Hurricanes are 4-0 as they approach Georgia Tech (2-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) at 8 p.m. Saturday in their first of eight consecutive ACC games, and Van Dyke is adamant about forging ahead with the same laser-focused mindset.
“You look very serious and focused,’’ a reporter told him this week during a Zoom conference, then asked if there were any moments of fun to celebrate what the team has accomplished thus far.
“We went to Puttshack last Thursday night just to hang out, chill and have some fun,’’ Van Dyke, a top-notch golfer, said. “But at the same time we know we’re only four games into the season. We still gotta work. Just because we won the first four games doesn’t mean we’re going to win the last eight. We worked really hard last week and are going to continue to do that this week.”
Van Dyke is No. 2 in the nation in passing efficiency (197.8) behind only 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams (217.7) of Southern Cal. The UM offense is 11th in scoring (43.8 points-a-game average) and seventh overall (519 yards a game).
Van Dyke, who has completed 74 of 99 passes (74.7 percent) for 1,042 yards and 11 touchdowns, has thrown only one interception and has been sacked only twice. He leads the ACC in completion percentage and touchdown-tointerception ration.
New UM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, who appears to have melded beautifully with Van Dyke, was asked about the quarterback’s success and how he hasn’t thrown an interception since the opener. Dawson said Van Dyke is “schematically comfortable’’ with his system, but that his success was shared by the entire offense.
QUARTERBACK DEPENDENCY
“I do think a quarterback is a very dependent position,’’ Dawson said. “Sometimes when things are going good they get too much credit. And when things are going bad they get a little too much blame.
I would say 10 other guys around him are doing their job at a very high level.
“Our O-line, he doesn’t get touched. They’re keeping guys off of him. He’s standing upright. That’s probably got the most to do with his accuracy, to be quite honest. And guys are getting open. They’re straining in their routes. They’re working defenders and they’re getting open. They’re in the right spots. Those two things put together allow the quarterback to do their job.
“We need 10 other guys around us when you play quarterback to do their jobs. Everything he’s got right now statistically is more of a complement to the people around him.”
The quarterback concurred.
“Football is a team game,” Van Dyke said. “I can’t play quarterback without the offensive line blocking for me. I can’t play quarterback without receivers catching the ball for me, and obviously the running backs running the ball and protecting. So you got to do the stuff together. One little mistake by someone up front or one drop, it reflects on me. So I do my best every day to make sure I lead those guys to success.”
Said left tackle Jalen Rivers on Wednesday: “We take pride in every game trying not to get our quarterback hurt or hit.’’
OFFSEASON WORK
Van Dyke said he “worked a lot” in the offseason on his mechanics. “I feel like my motion is a little bit shorter,’’ he said. “That’s helped my accuracy a lot. My front arm, my front leg, definitely better than it used to be in terms of quarterback mechanics. Seeing the field really well.”
As he often does, Van Dyke mentioned “confidence” as paramount to a quarterback’s success.
“The biggest thing in a quarterback, the best trait, is confidence,’’ Van Dyke said. “Week in and week out I talk to Eric Goldstein here, the psychologist, read some books to make sure my mind-set is right confidence-wise. That helps a lot with understanding where to go with the ball and understanding my mechanics. It helps my accuracy immensely.”
Asked about particular books, Van Dyke said he reads “Greatness” by David Cook during the season.
It’s “a mentality book, mind-set-type thing that I read every time before the game. Just those little paragraphs that kind of get my mind right.”
ACC PLAY
Because of his previous third-degree AC joint sprain of his throwing shoulder that prevented him from playing much of the second half of 2022 (or hampered him greatly when he tried to play), Van Dyke’s last three ACC starts (Pitt, FSU and Duke) ended in losses.
“There are some good teams,’’ he said of the conference. “It’s not a cakewalk. You’ve got to be ready to play your game. If you don’t, you’re going to lose. Georgia Tech is a good team, played in a lot of close games. The offense is in good hands, [Haynes] King is a great quarterback and the defense is good.
“We’ve just got to not beat ourselves and do our best to execute at a high level.”