Miami Hurricanes Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke Injury Update
Article photo of Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke; credit to Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports.
Today's Miami Hurricanes versus the Clemson Tigers game looks to be more difficult for the home Canes. The Hurricanes appear to be without starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. It's something that's been brewing for a while, as AllHurricanes noted earlier today with an article about Van Dyke's injury status.
Here's the up-to-the-minute information about what's going on with Van Dyke.
During warmups, Van Dyke is not on the Hard Rock Stadium turf with backup quarterbacks Emory Williams and Jacurri Brown. The best guess is that Williams is going to be the starting quarterback tonight, and that Brown is the backup. Well, at least that's the guess (one just never knows with college football).
To that point, the rumor about Van Dyke's injury status that head coach Mario Cristobal refuted, that's something to discuss on Sunday and/or Monday.
While it's still possible that Van Dyke plays today, it's certainly looking like Williams is the most likely candidate to at least start the game for Miami. Now, onto what's next for the Canes offense, assuming Williams is behind center.
How about going against Clemson’s No. 5 total defense that allows 261.8 yards per game? A hard game no matter when, that’s a daunting task for Williams’ first start behind center.
Clemson is also the No. 14 passing defense in the country, allowing 175.5 yards through the air, just as another barometer. As for Williams, here are his Miami passing statistics, with three games under his belt.
12 of 15, 80%, 144 yards, 9.6 yards per attempt, and no touchdowns or interceptions.
Williams obviously lacks college quarterbacking experience. Further, he’s never thrown a pass in which Miami did not already hold a lead of at least 15 points. Going up against the Tigers, a team with potential NFL defenders along the defensive line, linebacker, and secondary levels, that’s a unique challenge for the former Milton (Fla.) High School quarterback.
It will be interesting to see how Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson attacks Clemson. Shorter throws will be something Clemson expects, so those types of passes can be intercepted quite easily if Williams is not careful. That also means that skill players for the Canes must be on point today.
No drops, no fumbles, and definitely no mental errors that lead to pre-snap penalties like false starts or illegal procedures. Further, if there is a day when a spectacular catch for a score would be made by a Miami player, the game against Clemson would be perfect.
How about Xavier Restrepo making a diving grab for a score? Is it possible to speak that play into existence? At least there is the point of surprise that’s on Miami’s side.
Quite frankly, Clemson has little to no real information about Williams and his tendencies. He just has not been on the field enough yet for the Tigers to know what he prefers to do. From that perspective, The U must come up with some big plays to realistically stay competitive in this game.
Expecting Williams and this UM offense to slowly and methodically march the football down the field, that’s not all that realistic (although that would be an incredible story!).
Miami, and Williams, have their work cut out for them against Clemson.
Note: Any changes to Van Dyke's status will be updated via the AllHurricanes X and Facebook accounts first. So check back often.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.