Film Room: Tyler Van Dyke, Quarterback

Manny Diaz has to be smiling to himself every minute for hiring Dan Enos away from Alabama. Coach Enos has already done great things with the current crop of ‘Canes quarterbacks, and after landing Peyton Matocha for 2019 now has his man for 2020. Matocha was a late signee and looks more like a Group of 5 quarterback with a ceiling while Tyler Van Dyke is the real deal.

Cam Underwood has already welcomed Van Dyke to the U, so I won’t go after the player profile side. But the four-star prospect has legit size at six-foot-four, 216 pounds and his stats are where you’d like them to be, even with room for improvement. One great sign is that Dino Babers wanted Van Dyke at Syracuse and the Orange offense is producing quarterbacks with grit, which is the top quality I would look for in a passer.

Analytics

From a statistical breakdown, Van Dyke completed 57% of his passes which shows good accuracy. To put that into perspective, Sam Howell the early enrollee at UNC that I really wanted for Miami in 2019 completed 59% of his passes a year ago. Howell, like Van Dyke, has the arm talent to be an ACC quarterback and could make an immediate impact in Chapel Hill.

During Howell’s junior campaign he completed 8.8 yards per passing attempt while Van Dyke was around 8.5 yards per attempt. Howell, who is a more dual-threat type of QB, also ran for 1,594 yards while Van Dyke is a pro style pocket quarterback with the ability to avoid the rush but not out-run it.

Statistically speaking, I also like that Van Dyke spread the ball around well at Suffield Academy. Van Dyke hit five different receivers for double-digit receptions including one that averaged 20.4 yards per catch on 29 catches. Four different receivers also caught touchdowns from Van Dyke during his junior season. That shows his ability to work to multiple receivers and not just target one person with his throws which is often the case in high school.

Film Study

The first thing I look for in a QB is their throwing motion. I want to see the passer keep the ball up high, elbow comes first on the release, and there’s solid footwork with balanced follow through. Van Dyke has it all. He is the most polished Miami quarterback prospect since I can remember, maybe even back to Jacory Harris- but obviously with the size, arm strength and zip on the ball that Harris never had.

Deep game

Every offense needs the ability to string together sustainable drives. They chew up the clock, wear out the opposing defense, allow your defense to rest, and infuriate your opposition. Think about what Navy and Army West Point have done to Notre Dame and Oklahoma in the past few seasons. However, every offense also needs a deep strike in the arsenal.

Here, you can see two GIF’s of Van Dyke dropping dimes in the deep passing game. In the first GIF; Van Dyke stands in tall, he doesn’t panic or just take off and run, he pats his feet, keeps his eyes moving and finds his target.

In the second GIF; another thing coaches want to see from QB’s on their deep throw is the amount of torque needed to throw it deep. Does the quarterback have to run up, come off balance, or over extend to throw deep? Or does he just flick his wrist and fire a beautiful deep pass? Van Dyke makes it look effortless, which will help him avoid shoulder and elbow injuries as well as avoid dead arm in camp.

Intermediate passing

I love the deep ball as much as the next offensive coordinator, but what I want to see on film is the accuracy, zip and command of the intermediate passing game. Where N’Kosi Perry’s highlight tape showed a solid deep touch it failed to show a lot of intermediate passes. With Van Dyke’s tape, we’re seeing him rip a post (I’m guessing here on the route) with accuracy, lead, and precision. Look at Van Dyke’s balance and arm slot. He comes straight over the top, elbow first, and rifles the ball in.

Under pressure

With Dan Enos’ offense wanting to go under center, it’s good to see that Van Dyke can work both under and in the gun. His high school offense also uses tight ends, fullbacks and a variety of concepts. When a quarterback gets under pressure their mechanics can easily break down. What I like about Van Dyke here is that as only a junior, he not only keeps solid mechanics on the run but he progresses through his reads. He’s looking to throw the fullback flat route but when he feels it’s covered he looks inside and hits the drag-like crossing route instead.

On the run

When a quarterback is on the run, you want to see a few things from him. The first is whether or not he keeps his eyes downfield. Van Dyke does a great job of that here in the GIF below. You also want to see if, upon his decision to throw, he finishes with his hips and shoulders square to the line of scrimmage. A QB’s belt buckle must finish pointing at their target on the follow through and watch Van Dyke finish here. It’s a perfect clip and the quick release is a thing of beauty.

Summary

Tyler Van Dyke is a legit quarterback prospect and the first that I’ve gotten really excited about in a long time at Miami. My complaint about high school quarterbacks, and even the Miami trio preparing to start in 2019, is the lack of polish they have as passers. Dan Enos is working magic with Tate Martell, Jarren Williams and Perry but he won’t have to when Van Dyke arrives on campus.

The hardest part for Van Dyke will be adjusting to the wide receiver speed in their routes. Leading a receiver from Connecticut will be quite different than throwing to Brevin Jordan, Jeff Thomas, and guys with their elite speed. Hopefully Miami can get him down this summer to work with South Florida speed. He clearly has the arm talent to throw to fast guys, it’ll just be an adjustment to get the timing down.

I’m excited about this kid and hope that he sticks with Miami. I think if the Hurricanes close down their quarterback recruitment he will. Enjoy this perfect throw as you ponder whether Dan Enos and his new quarterback are legitimate or not.