Miami Hurricanes Turning Back To Tyler Van Dyke After Emory Williams Injury | How Will TVD Respond?
Tyler Van Dyke was benched last week in favor of true freshman quarterback Emory Williams.
Williams played with toughness in Miami's 27-20 loss at Florida State, but suffered a compound fracture to his left, non-throwing arm late in the game.
On Monday afternoon, Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal confirmed that Van Dyke will become the starter once again. Miami's other scholarship quarterback, Jacurri Brown, has not taken a snap this season.
Van Dyke has thrown 10 interceptions in his last four starts. He threw his twelfth interception of the season on Miami's final drive against Florida State, after coming in for the injured Williams.
Cristobal had this to say about how Van Dyke is handling this situation, essentially a second chance to lead the team:
“Being a quarterback in Miami, you've got to be tough, you've got to have thick skin, you've got to be a competitor. He's all that. He handled last week like a pro, which means disappointed, upset, really fought hard all week and it was a great week of practice by both guys. In fact, at the end of the week, staff felt like, ‘Man we've made a lot of progress.’ I felt like as a staff, and as players together, we did a better job of putting things together knowing it was gonna be a difficult team to move the ball against, particularly through the air, where they had excelled. But because of his performance last week, because of his determination, his past successes, that's what your job as a coach is. To provide clarity, remove the clutter, and make people better. And he has done really, really well. He's handled everything really well. And he has the confidence of his teammates and coaches.”
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson also spoke about Van Dyke and added some nice perspective on his situation.
"Alabama had a quarterback that got benched, and look how he's playing right now," Dawson said, referring to Jalen Milroe. "When I say the blueprint is out there, you don't have to look ten years in the past. Just look around. Don't feel like you're the only person going through something. There's somebody right there down the road that's going through it and handling really well. They took advantage of the opportunity. I'd be shocked if that doesn't happen (with Van Dyke.)"
The Hurricanes face 9th ranked Louisville at home this Saturday. Kickoff is set for Noon at Hard Rock Stadium.
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