Mario Cristobal confirms Tyler Van Dyke is '100%,' practicing at 'full speed'

Earlier this week, Tyler Van Dyke’s status for Miami’s season opener came into question after CaneSport reported he hit his thumb off the side of a helmet. The Hurricanes are gearing up to start the season this week against Miami (Ohio), and Van Dyke’s status in practice was unclear in light of the injury.

Monday, Mario Cristobal made it clear Van Dyke has been practicing.

“I know there’s been a lot of buzz about Tyler Van Dyke and him being injured,” Cristobal told reporters. “Tyler’s been practicing at full speed. I think you guys reported something relative [to] him missing practice, and him and a couple of guys were due to camp. But he’s 100% and has been practicing with our team.”

Van Dyke is looking to take a big leap in his second year in Cristobal’s system. Injuries got in the way last year as he threw for 1,835 yards and 10 touchdowns in just nine games. It was a tough follow-up to an impressive 2021 season in which he totaled 2,931 yards and 25 yards as he brought home ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

There was some NFL Draft chatter ahead of the season, but the rough season led Van Dyke back to Miami and he’ll now try to bounce back. Of course, staying healthy is a key part of that — and he said he made some changes to his body this offseason to help with that.

“I lost like 2.5 percent in body fat,” Van Dyke said. “I feel faster, more mobile, side to side. Feel a lot better about that. … It’s the same weight. Just 2.5 percent less than I was. … I was up near 15 percent, like 14.9, and now I’m down to 12.3.”

As training camp got underway, Cristobal said Van Dyke was looking more like his old self and fitting in well with the roster. With a new offensive coordinator in Shannon Dawson coming in this year, all eyes are on how Van Dyke rebounds from his 2022 struggles and gets back on track.

“He looks good, he looks really good. He looks comfortable but urgent, does that make sense?” Cristobal said. “So he understands the offense, he gets after it, he’s very proactive with his teammates and getting extra work in, making sure everybody’s on the same page.”

Miami will start the 2023 season Friday at 6 p.m. ET against Miami (Ohio).