Tyler Van Dyke "Has his confidence back!" Former Miami Hurricanes Quarterback Malik Rosier Weighs In
Miami Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke has looked virtually unstoppable since getting benched three games ago against Middle Tennessee. "TVD" threw for 496 yards against North Carolina and 352 against Virginia Tech.
In each of those games, Tyler spread the ball around to nine different receivers. He's come a long way from the previous three matchups, where he threw just 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions against Southern Miss, Texas A&M, and Middle Tennessee.
Former Hurricanes quarterback Malik Rosier discussed Van Dyke's ascension with me on the Locked On Canes Podcast.
"Tyler finally has his confidence back," Rosier said. "I think you're starting to see that confidence beginning to flow into his receivers. You're not seeing as many drops. You're seeing more big plays. You're seeing more consistent catching."
Prior to the North Carolina game, Van Dyke began participating in joint meetings with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce to identify the plays he's most comfortable running and eliminate the ones he isn't. Since then, he's looked more aggressive and more decisive.
Rosier is right about the drops, too. Hurricanes receivers dropped 7 passes against Texas A&M. Against Virginia Tech, they only had 3 drops in 42 pass attempts.
6-5 junior college transfer Colbie Young has emerged as the Canes' top weapon over the past two games. He caught 9 balls for 110 yards and a touchdown against the Hokies. Frank Ladson and Brashard Smith gave big time contributions. Tight end Will Mallory was looking unstoppable before a second quarter injury.
In the coming weeks, the Hurricanes are expecting top receivers Jacolby George and Xavier Restrepo to return from injury. Expect the passing game to stay hot in the second half of the season.
Despite the lack of early season success, Miami's passing offense now ranks 14th in the country at 324 yards per game. Rosier would like to see that continue to trend up. He expects Duke to be more than prepared for what Miami has been doing.
"Duke has been studying what (Miami) has been doing the last two weeks," Rosier said. "What are the new 10 to 15 plays or formations that Gattis has put in that have been successful? They're gonna do their very best job in stopping that. One thing I can say about Duke is, they're super smart. That, to me, is going to be the interesting factor on this. They are not super athletic but what you're good at, they're gonna do their very best at taking it away. I am very interested to see how Miami's staff will adjust this week."
Duke's passing defense is 99th in America. On paper, Miami should be able to exploit it.
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