Before the 2022 season, Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke appeared on every NFL Draft Big Board.
The sophomore quarterback had thrown 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2021, his first season as a starter, and he’d earned one of the 20 best PFF grades in the country. He’d completed 62.3% of his passes, averaged 9.0 yards per attempt, and posted five QBRs higher than 85 in nine starts. He went 6-3 as a starter, with his largest loss just by three points, and at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, he seemed to be everything an NFL team could hope for.
PFF’s Anthony Treash called Van Dyke one of the 10 best returning starters in the country. ESPN’s Matt Miller predicted the Miami quarterback would be a top-10 draft pick, and his colleague Mel Kiper Jr. had him as high as 12th on his Big Board.
When the 2022 season finally arrived, however, Van Dyke didn’t take the leap many expected. In fact, he seemed to take a major step back. In seven full games, he threw just 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. He didn’t earn a QBR above 72.5, and his PFF passing grade dropped from 73.9 to 67.7. He cratered in an upset loss to Middle Tennessee when he threw interceptions on his first two passes before being benched midway through the third quarter.
Van Dyke plummeted completely off draft boards, his name not even whispered as a dark horse as the 2023 season began. It seemed he’d blown his shot to impress NFL scouts. But the Miami quarterback, it seems, has yet to hear a bell.
Through four games in 2023, the now-junior has already surpassed his 2022 touchdown total with 11 scores. His completion percentage has jumped from the low 60s to 74.7%, and he’s averaging a career-high 10.5 yards per attempt. Everything seemed to click in a Week 2 upset over Texas A&M when he completed 21 of 30 passes for 374 yards and five touchdowns. He hasn’t been given a QBR below 93.8 since.
The intangibles scouts saw after 2021 are still there, and now Van Dyke is second in the country in QBR (91.5) and PFF passing grade (93.9).
The Miami quarterback has yet to reach the heights he soared to on big boards, and he honestly may never again. He’s still 150th on PFF’s Big Board, their 17th-highest quarterback, which is close to his place on most national rankings. But with games against North Carolina and Clemson on the horizon, the Hurricanes’ signal-caller has some chances to flash.