Tyler Van Dyke Has Felt Support From Teammates Leading Up To His Second Chance As Miami Hurricanes Starter
"You're not gonna play your best every game. It's all about how you respond."
Tyler Van Dyke answered questions from the media on Wednesday, looking comfortable and motivated ahead of Miami's clash with 9th ranked Louisville this weekend.
Van Dyke's attitude and accountability impressed me. He doesn't sound bitter or jilted after being benched last week. He struck me as someone looking forward to another opportunity to play the game he loves. This is exactly the attitude I wanted to see.
"I've gotta take ownership of my mistakes," he said. "We know what we're capable of. We've done it before."
Van Dyke started the season red hot. It wasn't so long ago, back on September 9th, when he logged perhaps the best performance of his career against Texas A&M. In that home win, TVD completed 70 percent of his passes for 374 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He was the top graded passer in America through his first four games.
From October onward, Van Dyke struggled with turnovers, throwing ten interceptions over the course of four starts. His turnovers got him benched in favor of freshman Emory Williams. Williams suffered a season-ending injury against Florida State, thrusting Van Dyke back into the spotlight.
He offered some clarity on how and why his struggles began. "I feel like I was just doing too much at certain times and making dumb mistakes in certain situations," Van Dyke said. He admits he's tried to force too many balls into tight windows when checkdowns are available. "I've got to be smarter with the football. I've definitely learned a lot from the last five or six weeks and I've got to be better from it."
When Van Dyke was benched, he told Williams, "I'm here to support you in whatever ways I can." Van Dyke said he tried to keep a positive mindset. "I feel like I'm in a really good headspace right now after talking to people." He noted that his grandfather, a former athlete and football and baseball coach, has been someone he really leans on for advice. He's also sought counsel from other family members and from the UM sports psychologist.
"At the end of the day, I'm not gonna let football consume my happiness," he said. "I love playing football and I want to accomplish my dreams of playing college football and playing in the NFL, so I am going to do my best. I love the game. But at the end of the day I am not gonna let that consume my happiness. I don't want to be upset the rest of my life because football didn't go my way. You learn that throughout the process of the last few weeks. Maybe that was the life lesson that God was trying to teach me."
Van Dyke understands that criticism from fans comes with the territory when you're struggling. "That's a part of the business. I love being a Miami Hurricane. I don't have Instagram or Twitter, anything like that, so I don't see it, but I assume (criticism has come in.)"
Now that Van Dyke is starting again, he continues to feel support from his teammates. "A lot of (teammates) have come up to me and said they have full trust in me. They've told me we know what you're capable of, and we have full trust that you can go out there and do it on Saturday." Van Dyke emphasized that the offensive players have stayed close together despite their tough times of late. "It's been good having full support from my teammates."
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