Tyler Van Dyke had a career day on Saturday, and it could be just the start for Miami.
As Miami welcomed No. 23 Texas A&M to Florida for a showdown in Hard Rock Stadium, Van Dyke paced the offense behind a 374-yard, five-touchdown showing.
The Hurricanes overcame a 17-7 deficit in the second quarter and outgained the Aggies 451 yards to 433.
“It’s not me, it was the entire offensive line,” Van Dyke said. “They protected me all day giving me so much time to throw. Receivers did a great job getting open, catching the ball, making plays after they caught the ball. I mean, all-around total unit together game we played today, so (I’m) proud of the guys and proud of the way we played today.”
His performance comes a year after a season in which he dealt with injuries for six games, and he did so while learning a new offensive system under former coordinator Josh Gaddis.
This season, Van Dyke is healthier and under Shannon Dawson as offensive coordinator. The pair and the Miami offense worked together for the first time last week in a 38-3 rout of Miami (OH), as Van Dyke posted 201 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception.
After the first two outings, all signs are pointing positive for Van Dyke and the Hurricanes.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Van Dyke said. “Last year was not the way I pictured everything to go so it gives me a lot of confidence the way I played today. The people around me helped me a lot get to that confidence level. It’s only game two. We still got another 10 games, hopefully more after that. You just got to keep it going.”
The changes and differences comparing this season to last is allowing Van Dyke to play some of his best football.
“I feel accuracy-wise I’m the best I’ve ever been,” Van Dyke said. “Seeing the defense I’m the best I’ve ever been. I’m seeing it really well right now. Like you said. The confidence is a big thing there, and give credit to all my teammates. They helped me get to where I am today.”
Miami’s second-quarter turnaround was propelled by a pair of touchdown passes by Van Dyke. He threw the first touchdown 52 yards to wide receiver Isaiah Horton, and later tossed the go-ahead score 11 yards to Jacolby George.
Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal credited the offensive line, wide receivers and team in general for their contributions that allowed Van Dyke to have the game that he had.
“He was outstanding,” Cristobal said. “He’s been an absolute awesome leader, and he had a lot of autonomy going into this game to do things, and the matchups we felt that we had good matchups. We felt the receiving corps has worked really hard and has proven themselves in practice and did a lot of good things in game one and certainly they’re loaded up in the box. Hard to run the ball against them.”
Van Dyke’s five touchdowns represented a career high, and his 374 passing yards were fifth-most in his career.
Miami is 2-0 for a second-consecutive season, and Van Dyke and the Hurricanes have sights on improving from a 5-7 record from a year ago. A healthier Van Dyke and an offense that’s in sync are key ingredients to continuing to progress toward that goal.
“It means a lot,” Van Dyke said. “It shows how hard we worked this offseason. It shows how this is a player-led team. All leaders came together, told each other this is not happening again. We’re not being 5-7. Fight through the adversity and win those games. I think tonight was the first step in showing the world what we have to prove. 10 more games so this is only the beginning.”
