South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Van Dyke expected to start in season finale
MIAMI GARDENS — The Hurricanes got their starting quarterback for their last regular-season game.
Tyler Van Dyke was expected to start for Miami against Pittsburgh on Saturday night, returning after missing UM’s last two games, a source told the Sun Sentinel. Van Dyke has missed three full games and most of the Florida State loss with a shoulder injury.
Van Dyke has been Miami’s most productive quarterback this season. He has completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 1,761 yards and 10 touchdowns (with four interceptions). Pro Football Focus gives Van Dyke a 67.5 offensive score and a 68.5 passing score, down from 75.5 and 73.9, respectively, in 2021.
But Van Dyke suffered an injury against Duke on Oct. 22, which kept him out for Miami’s following game against Virginia. He tried to return against Florida State on Nov. 5, but he struggled before leaving the game when he re-aggravated the injury. He missed the Hurricanes’ win over Georgia Tech and loss to Clemson.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal praised Van Dyke on Monday for fighting to return before the season concluded.
“It means that he’s a real one,” Cristobal said. “We talk about it all the time: Football tells the truth, now. It reveals who is toughminded and resilient and who’s able to push through and deal when things are good as well as
when things aren’t so good and will also reveal those that buckle
and that will look for, I don’t know, a place to hide when things don’t exactly go their way or look for excuses.”
Without Van Dyke, the Hurricanes have split time between redshirt freshman Jake Garcia and Jacurri Brown. Garcia started in the road win over Virginia, while
Brown started in the road victory over Georgia Tech and the loss to Clemson. Garcia replaced Brown in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Tigers.
“We make sure they understand we’re always going to do what gives us the best chance to win,” Cristobal said. “I thought
both those guys did a great job of handling the situation and both supported each other. That’s hard to do, man, and hard to find, right — quarterbacks that are willing to do that in a tough time. So I commend both those guys for their response to being in a tough situation.”