Tyler Van Dyke raves about new OC Shannon Dawson: 'I love his offense'

Entering 2023, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke will look to bounce back after a frustrating 2022 campaign. However, he’ll have to do that with the added challenge of having his third offensive coordinator in as many seasons.

Learning new offenses and terminology can be challenging and even potentially set a quarterback back in their development. However, Van Dyke is excited to work with new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson.

“Things are good,” Tyler Van Dyke said at the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff. “I love his offense. The way he just lets the quarterback play with a lot of freedom. It’s explosive.”

Tyler Van Dyke explained that when he means freedom, he means that he has the ability to be in control of what’s happening on the field for Miami.

“Based on what the defense gives you to change run plays to pass plays, change receiver’s routes, all that kind of stuff,” Van Dyke said. “Put everyone in the right position, get out of their sticky ones, and like I said before, the explosiveness that he brings to the table, stretching the defense out, letting the ball rip down the field.”

Last season, Shannon Dawson was the offensive coordinator at Houston. The Cougars finished the season 16th in scoring offense, scoring 36.1 points per game, and 25th in total offense, gaining 455.8 yards per game. Miami was 97th in scoring offense, averaging just 23.6 points per game, and 86th in total offense, gaining 367.1 yards per game. In four games, Miami failed to score more than 10 points in regulation.

Part of Miami’s issues were the injuries to Tyler Van Dyke. However, it’s clear the Hurricanes are excited about the prospect of adding some explosiveness to the offense.

Why Shannon Dawson’s offense will help Tyler Van Dyke

There are a lot of questions surrounding Miami’s offense. However, one person who expects Shannon Dawson’s offense to help Tyler Van Dyke rebound is On3’s JD PicKell.

“Tyler Van Dyke, for 2023, I think it’ll be a better year for him. What goes into that? Well, what went into what happened in 2021 and 2022? The coordinator switched, right? And we had Mario Cristobal, the head coach for the Miami Hurricanes, on this very show, and he just told us; listen, man, nobody’s fault. Offensively, last year just wasn’t a fit for what we were trying to do. Okay. That’s fine,” PicKell said.

“Enter into the fray now Shannon Dawson calling the offense. I get excited about Shannon Dawson calling the offense for Miami because Shannon Dawson has played quarterback before. He’s coached quarterbacks before. And this is not by any stretch of the imagination a dunk on Josh Gattis… Josh Gattis has a history coaching wide receivers. Shannon Dawson has a history coaching quarterbacks. And so, why is that important? As the coordinator, it is paramount for you to speak the same language as your quarterback. And by nature of the positions they’ve coached, you would imagine it’s easier for a former quarterback and quarterback coach to be more easily synced up with your quarterback than it would be for a wide receivers coach.”