What Wisconsin Football Liked About Transfer QB Tyler Van Dyke

When the transfer portal opened, the Wisconsin Badgers football program didn’t waste any time getting involved with several high-profile quarterbacks. 

After the dust settled, the Badgers felt that they found a good fit in Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke, who had 28 starts under his belt from his time with the Hurricanes. 

Van Dyke amassed 7,469 passing yards, along with 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, while maintaining a career completion rate of 63.7% at the U. The former four-star recruit also has 11 career games with 300+ passing yards on his resume, which is a feat Wisconsin failed to achieve in its first year running the air raid offense. 

He’s set to join a QB room consisting of Braedyn Locke, Nick Evers, Cole LaCrue, and incoming freshman Mabrey Mettauer. Head coach Luke Fickell insists that he made no promises, but all signs point to Van Dyke getting the first crack at earning the vacated QB1 job when spring practice opens. 

Phil Longo Shares What He Likes About Wisconsin Football Transfer QB Tyler Van Dyke

Nov 24, 2023; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (9) waves to fans during warmups before a game against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

During the Wisconsin football team’s bowl prep down in Tampa, the Badgers coordinators Phil Longo and Mike Tressel were made available to reporters for the first time since October. 

One question on everyone’s mind was what is it that attracted the staff to Tyler Van Dyke, and what is it that he’ll bring to the program next season.  

“I mean, obviously, we are very pleased with what Tyler has to offer, or we wouldn’t have brought him in,” Longo stated. “But he’s got a lot of experience. He’s a mentally tough kid. He’s very bright. Obviously, he’s tall and rangy, and he can he can throw it all over the yard; he can make all the throws. I watched him live. Coach Fickell, I have learned working with him every day is huge on winners, right? We all are. And he’s a guy that has proven he can do that in the past.” 

UW locked up Van Dyke not long after his official visit to Madison. But they were also involved with Toledo quarterback DeQuan Finn, who wound up at Baylor. A source shared with me that Finn was atop the Wisconsin football team’s wishlist, but from a NIL standpoint, he may have come with too high of a price tag for the Badgers to roll the dice on. 

In the end, everyone involved felt that Van Dyke fit what the Badgers want to do on offense and has a history of pushing the ball downfield, which was a dynamic that eluded the Wisconsin football team this past season. 

Per PFF, Van Dyke got the ball out of his hand in 2.64 seconds on average, which is quicker than both Tanner Mordecai (3.06) and Braedyn Locke (2.74). 

He’s also improved tremendously during his career in navigating the pocket and escaping pressure. In the last three seasons, Van Dyke has improved his pressure-to-sack percentage each year — despite having average mobility. 

“He’s a guy [Van Dyke] that I’ve actually watched live, and that carried some weight with me with regards to liking him because I’ve seen him do it against our defense [North Carolina] two years in a row,” Longo continued. “I’ve seen him do it against the entire league that I coached in [ACC] for four years. I know what he was competing against, and I know how high of a level he was playing. So I’m obviously thrilled to have him here in our quarterback room.”

Wisconsin Football Analytics: Tyler Van Dyke QB “Deep Dive”

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