Tyler Van Dyke: Offense starting to really come together this final week heading into Game 1

All the preseason Heisman talk, top 20 rankings and hype pretty much go out the window for QB Tyler Van Dyke with the season set to kick off on Saturday. He’s focused on one task: Making this Miami offense under new coordinator Josh Gattis a dominant group.

After the team’s Tuesday practice, Van Dyke weighed in on the latest in that endeavor.

The QB said the offense “is clicking really well right now.”

“Especially heading into game week, the last four or five practices it’s been good for the offense as a whole,” he said.

Van Dyke also broke down his thoughts on the receivers’ progress, with Mario Cristobal saying on Monday that he’d seen a lot of progress from the group in the prior week.

“Completing more balls, catching the ball a lot better than we have been in fall camp,” Van Dyke said. “The timing is better. It’s all about them knowing what to do during that play, just getting there and making the catch. A lot more focus. Those guys are getting on the JUGS machine a lot more and just working harder at it.

“I’m excited for those guys. They’ve been doing a great job.”

Van Dyke also said he expects opponents to focus on trying to stop TE Will Mallory, which could help open up the receivers.

“Will is a special playmaker,” Van Dyke said. “You have to almost double cover him to stop him. That’ll help receivers make plays. They’re going to try to game plan for him especially.”

As for a running backs room that’s down two players due to injury?

Well, with Henry Parrish and Jaylan Knighton leading the charge along with Thaddius Franklin, these are backs that don’t just run but are also weapons as receivers.

Van Dyke said today he “100 percent” anticipates their being involved in the pass game.

“At Michigan with those two running backs catching the ball out of the backfield (under Josh Gattis) – we have Rooster [Knighton] and Henry who can do the same thing,” Van Dyke said. “Coach Gattis’ offense relies on a lot of running backs catching the ball, tight ends. So I see a lot of that coming this year.”

Up front the team got a boost with the return to practice of Zion Nelson over the weekend. He’d missed fall camp off a cleanup surgery.

“It’s been good, he’s still working through it, I talk to him a lot and he’s feeling a lot better,” Van Dyke said. “I’m just excited that he’s going to be back soon.”

A refresher on last year for Van Dyke: He threw 25 TDs after beginning the year as D’Eriq King’s backup. After struggling in his first two real starts against Virginia and North Carolina (combined 35-74 passing with two TDs and three INTS), over his final six starts he threw 20 touchdowns. The math on that’s simple – if he matches those six games over a 12-game season you’re at 40 TDs.

“My preparation hasn’t been any different this year from last year,” he said. “I always practiced like I was the starter. Preparation is the same, but leadership-wise it’s different. I’m the guy right now.”

Hopes are high for him entering Game 1.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” Van Dyke said. “We’re just going to go out and play our hardest. We have to go dominate up front in the trenches and make plays down the field.”

*A new rule under Mario Cristobal: No video games can be played at the team hotel.

Van Dyke’s take on that: “It’s all about focus,” he said. “It’s about what we worked on during the week, thinking about that and also trying to clear our minds, get a good night’s rest. No distractions anymore. We’re just going to go out there and show what we can do and play our hardest.”

*Van Dyke was asked about sophomore Malik Curtis as a player who has really developed and could be in line for a big role as a punt returner and CB.

“Malik has been one of the players that has developed the most over the past year,” Van Dyke said. “He’s been working with the ones, twos, has been making plays on all the quarterbacks, all the receivers.”

And of the secondary in general, Van Dyke said their play has made it hard on the WRs.

“(They) make the receivers work, and the receivers have improved because of that,” Van Dyke said. “On defense we have a bunch of starters that might not start but are really starters. Especially the D line, the secondary. I’m excited to see the defense improve this year.”