Tyler Van Dyke Discussed His Return From Injury, Shannon Dawson's Offense, Colbie Young, Will Mallory, and Emory Williams
When Tyler Van Dyke left Miami’s lineup with a right shoulder injury last season, the Hurricanes struggled on offense for the majority of the offensive snaps thereafter.
Now that he’s back and been throwing during the Miami spring practices, there’s renewed hope that the offense will take off. Van Dyke talked with the media after Tuesday’s practice on a variety of topics, including his own health.
“I feel good,” Van Dyke said of his return from injury. “I feel like I’m throwing the ball even better than I was before. But yeah, I’ve been good, getting a lot stronger, faster. You know, just working hard with the guys and continuing to get better each day.”
Switching to learning the offense that’s being installed by newly hired offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, Van Dyke was happy about the transition.
“It’s been good. There are a lot of different ways that he gets the plays, in the run game, the pass game, so which is good.
“You know, when you first get used to a new offense, it takes a while because you have to install new plays, and then RPO (run-pass option), passes, runs, and then you have to figure out how to add some plays for tough situations that the defense proposes.
“That’s where we’re kind of at right now. We’ve installed most of our stuff right now. (As an example), see what the defense gives us, maybe change the plays here and there, playing more like a game now.”
Heading into his fourth season with the Canes, Van Dyke will actually be learning his third offense. He was asked if the experience of attempting to learn new offenses helped him this time around?
“I’m definitely picking this one up faster. I think it’s just because…I’m older now and, I mean I’ve been around a lot of offenses now. I mean football is football. There are a lot of concepts that are similar.
“Just different ways that coaches communicate and get into those plays. Yeah, I feel very confident and comfortable with his play calling and his plays.”
Van Dyke also gave praise to last year’s breakout wide receiver, Colbie Young.
“He’s been really good,” Van Dyke stated without hesitation. “You know, he took a big step this offseason and continues to show it.
“He’s becoming a leader of the entire receiver room, along with some other guys. I’m really excited to see what he can do this fall, based on what he did last year and this spring.”
One of Van Dyke’s favorite targets from 2021 and 2022, Will Mallory, recently ran an impressive 4.54 forty-yard dash during the NFL Combine. It turned heads and improved Mallory’s overall NFL Draft stock.
He also just had his pro day at UM, with Van Dyke throwing to him. The Hurricanes signal caller discussed what it was like helping out his friend and former teammate.
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” Van Dyke said with a big smile. “Just to get out there, help my guy out. He made some amazing catches. I was just glad to help him out anyway I can. I’m excited to see where he goes in the (NFL) Draft.”
Looking to Miami’s future, Van Dyke was also asked about true freshman quarterback Emory Williams and his development. There’s been a lot of positive vibes about Williams, and All Hurricanes own Alex Donno has really liked the young man’s footwork during drills at practice.
“Emory is a really good dude. He’s going to be a great player. Very smart, very accurate. He has a lot to learn, still. I mean, he should still be in high school (but he enrolled early at Miami).
“But he’s going to be a good player and he’s picking up everything fast.”
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