Miami high on Tyler Van Dyke in new offense, young contributors

Miami hosted its annual spring game on Friday night and there was a lot to be excited about as coach Mario Cristobal heads into Year 2 with his program.

The Hurricanes have a veteran starting quarterback returning in Tyler Van Dyke and there’s been a considerable amount of young talent added to the roster.

But it starts with Van Dyke.

“He’s a big quarterback, he’s got a strong arm,” Miami general manager of football operations Alonzo Highsmith said. “Very smart, but more than anything he’s a good leader. Teammates like him, he works hard. And if you’re willing to work hard with talent you become a pretty good football player. We’re excited about him being the leader of our team this year.”

Miami showed off its new-look offense under offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, who was hired after previous coordinator Josh Gattis was fired.

The Hurricanes looked fairly comfortable in Dawson’s system already.

“It’s a pass-friendly offense,” Highsmith noted in an on-camera interview during the broadcast of the spring game. “The offensive coordinator Dawson has had a lot of success in this offense. He’s had a lot of good quarterbacks. He’s had a lot of good receivers. If it’s done right in the correct way we’re going to be productive on offense.”

One of the things that will help make that statement come to life is the emergence of some freshman stars. The Hurricanes recruited well last cycle, particularly in the trenches.

Miami thrilled with young contributors

Miami landed five-star offensive tackles Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola, but there are other newcomers also making their mark.

“You know what, we’ve been excited about a lot of freshman during the whole process of spring training,” Highsmith said. “Rueben Bain, Francis Mauigoa and (Nathaniel) “Ray Ray” (Joseph). Ray Ray is doing well and a lot of young kids are really performing when their number’s been called, so we’re excited about that. We’ve got a long way to go as a football team and we’re getting better.”

Bain, in particular, had a strong night in the spring game, earning an early shoutout from Cristobal.

Highsmith noted that he’s exactly the type of player Miami is trying to build around going forward in the Cristobal era.

“The most important thing about Bain is he’s from Miami, kind of a folk hero,” Highsmith said. “He won a lot of state championships. He’s got high expectations for himself, and those are the kind of kids we’re trying to bring into the program. Kids that expect a lot from themselves and want to raise the level of Miami football.

“We’ve got some really good players on the offensive line. Samson, Francis, (Javion) Cohen and (Jalen) Rivers and all the kids that are coming back from last year. We’ve expanded the group and they’ve gotten better, so we’re excited about that.”

Competition is key in the offseason

While spring football practice is now over for Miami, the main thing the coaches were emphasizing all spring carries well into the offseason regimen. It’s as simple as one word.

Competition.

“I’m not one to make (predictions on) how many wins or anything like that,” Highsmith said. “I think the main thing about what we’re trying to do is raise the competition level. We’ve got to be able to compete every day in practice as we get better as a football team.

“It won’t be bells and whistles, it won’t be five-stars, two-stars, it’ll be about who competes every day and learning to compete every day. Once we learn how to compete every day we’ll be a better program.”