Tyler Van Dyke is among the big-name college football quarterbacks who has put his name in the transfer portal. Van Dyke, a former 3-star recruit who had a dominant 2021 season as a redshirt freshman with Miami, never recaptured the magic of that one year. Now, he's looking for a new starting job in the Power 5.
Injuries and what appeared to be a case of the yips in 2023 have hampered Van Dyke, but we've seen that he's a talented passer at times in his career. If he lands in the right system with the right opportunity, he could be an obvious upgrade and even a possible game-changer for a team to land in the transfer portal. But what programs would make the most sense?
These five college football programs should be taking a long, hard look at Tyler Van Dyke in the transfer portal.
5. Rutgers could bring Tyler Van Dyke back closer to home in the transfer portal
Though there was plenty of skepticism about the possibility of Greg Schiano being able to replicate his previous success at Rutgers upon his return, he's actually done a pretty phenomenal job. The Scarlet Knights are going bowling this year after a 6-6 season, even if they went a meager 3-6 in Big Ten play.
Anyone who watched Rutgers, though, would tell you that the offense was extremely limited, in large part because Gavin Wimsatt is so limited as a passer. He completed fewer than 50% of his passes this season with just 1,651 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Schiano and Rutgers could look to upgrade to take another step forward in the expanding conference. While Van Dyke has not been perfect, he would undoubtedly be a better passer than the Scarlet Knights have in the program, and would be able to bring him back closer to home as a Connecticut native.
4. Mississippi State could pair Tyler Van Dyke with Jeff Lebby
Things are moving quickly at Mississippi State. Zach Arnett was ousted after less than a full first season following him replacing the legendary Mike Leach. Now, the Bulldogs are replacing him with former Oklahoma and Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. But the offensive mind doesn't quite have a quarterback.
Will Rogers is another experienced quarterback to already have entered the transfer portal, meaning that Mississippi State doesn't have a passer who threw for 12,000+ yards in his career. For someone like Lebby who runs an iteration of the veer-and-shoot offense, he needs to fill that void in a major way.
Van Dyke could be a perfect fit, though. Lebby's offense is about quick, one-read concepts where guys are schemed open and the QB just needs to make the throw. That is Van Dyke's strength at the position, so this might actually be one of the most natural fits for the former Miami quarterback.
3. UNC might be able to replace Drake Maye with Tyler Van Dyke
An argument could be made that the North Carolina Tar Heels squandered the career of a generational quarterback in Drake Maye. Whether you believe that to be true or not, UNC is almost surely going to be heading into the 2024 season without a sure answer at quarterback as Maye departs for the NFL Draft.
Much like with Lebby at Mississippi State, we've seen that Tar Heels offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, just like Phil Longo before him, indeed makes life easier on the quarterback with quick, easy-ish reads. Granted, Maye's talent elevates the offense, especially with a suspect offensive line, but it's still an offensive scheme where Van Dyke could fit.
With TVD's familiarity playing in the ACC, this could be a comfortable on-field fit for the quarterback and a Power 5 job where he'd almost surely be the immediate starter.
2. Is Tyler Van Dyke the Auburn answer at QB in the transfer portal?
You'd be hard-pressed to find a college football program at the FBS level, particularly in the SEC, who is going to be more desperate at quarterback going into the 2024 season than Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers. So it's almost customary that a big name in the portal is going to be connected to the possibility of going to the Plains.
Having said that, I'm a bit dubious of the fit of Van Dyke within Freeze's offense. Though it may have been to maximize the limited talent of Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford at the position this season, Freeze has often utilized mobility and did so in his first season with Auburn with who he had to work with. That's not exactly a strength of Van Dyke's game.
Even still, beggars can't be choosers and Auburn is going to be closer to beggars this offseason to find an upgrade at QB. Though Van Dyke might not be the ideal fit for Freeze, his ability as a passer still makes him an upgrade.
1. Notre Dame can roll with transfer portal again to land Tyler Van Dyke
There might not be a more logical on-field fit for Tyler Van Dyke than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, especially given what we just saw Marcus Freeman and his program do in the 2023 season.
Notre Dame brought in former Wake Forest star Sam Hartman this past offseason by way of the transfer portal and gave him the keys to the offense. It wasn't a perfect fit for the Irish, but it gave the offense a baseline of competency with some upside at times that wouldn't have otherwise been there. As Hartman exhausts his eligibility and with no obvious immediate replacement, perhaps they go that route again with Van Dyke.
After working to fit Hartman coming from the slow-mesh at Wake, we know that Notre Dame is willing to adapt to its personnel at quarterback, so having that quick-read offense for Van Dyke seems feasible. And most importantly, it might keep the baseline high for Freeman's team.
