ESPN's Molly McGrath shares alarming details on injury Tyler Van Dyke is battling

Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke has struggled the second half of the season after getting off to an excellent start in 2023.

Van Dyke entering Saturday’s game against Louisville having thrown six interceptions and zero touchdowns over his past three games.

We now know why Van Dyke’s production has dipped as of late.

ESPN sideline analyst Molly McGrath shared what injury Van Dyke has been dealing with this year during Saturday’s broadcast.

“On the sidelines, Tyler Van Dyke is walking gingerly. He’s favoring his right leg. He told us in October he suffered a rare leg injury called a Morel-Lavallée lesion, where the skin separated from the muscle and fat layer on his right leg from the knee down,” McGrath said.

“It’s an injury most commonly seen in high-velocity traumas like car accidents. It causes extreme pain and swelling and he admitted it’s hampered his ability to make plays outside of the pocket. He refuses to make excuses but it is bothering him today.”

Despite the injury bothering Van Dyke, he is still playing well during the first half of Saturday’s game against a Louisville team that is one of the best in the ACC.

He helped the Hurricanes get out to a 21-14 lead. Thus far in the first half, Van Dyke is 11 of 16 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Tyler Van Dyke shares belief Miami teammates have expressed in him

Tyler Van Dyke is back in the starting QB job role this weekend with freshman Emory Williams out for the season.

Van Dyke has played well at times during his career but has also had his share of struggles, including throwing six interceptions in his past three games.

Still, his teammates have faith in him, which gives him confidence heading into Saturday’s game against Louisville.

“A lot of guys have come up to me and said they have full trust in me,” Tyler Van Dyke said earlier this week. “They’ve told me, ‘You’ve done this before. We know what you’re capable of and we have full trust you can go do it on Saturday.’ So it’s been good having full support from my teammates.”

Van Dyke earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2021, but he has been up and down since. Injuries have certainly contributed to his struggles, but when he has been healthy, he has played at a high level at times.

That includes earlier this year when he passed for 374 yards and five touchdowns against Texas A&M. The hope for Miami is that Van Dyke can play at a high level on Saturday against Louisville. His teammates believe he will.

“We’ve all stayed close together, even through these tough times,” Van Dyke said. “I’m so close with all the guys on offense and doing the best I can to lead them. It’s been good, even with this unfortunate circumstance.”