Game week is here! The Miami football team is preparing for the first game of the 2023 season versus Miami (Ohio) on Friday night. Mario Cristobal and the coaching staff are finalizing their depth charts for the season opener. Tyler Van Dyke is healthy and expected to have a bounce-back 2023 season.
There is a battle emerging behind Van Dyke as his primary backup. Entering the first week of the season, Jacurri Brown provides the Miami football team with athleticism and experience at QB. Brown often struggled with accuracy last season. That continued during spring practice and into August training camp.
True freshman Emory Williams doesn’t provide Miami with the athleticism or experience that Brown brings but has been far more accurate throughout the spring and during August training camp. In the first scrimmage of training camp this month Brown was seven of 16 for 57 yards with six carries for a loss of three yards.
In the spring game, Brown completed nine passes in 17 attempts for 74 yards. Williams completed seven passes in eight attempts for 87 yards with three carries for a loss of 11 yards in the Spring game. Williams is not known for his running ability. Expect Brown to be utilized in special packages during the 2023 season.
If Van Dyke struggles with ineffectiveness or is hurt in 2023, new offensive coordinator Shannon Brown will face a difficult decision on who to play at QB. The second-team QB for Miami could depend on the opponent and the situation. Dawson has been praised for his work with QBs during his career
Brown completed 60.0 percent of his passes for 230 yards, three TDs and three interceptions in 2022 with 54 carries for 223 yards. Miami is expected to have a much more explosive and vertical-oriented offense in 2023. Brown averaged 5.9 yards per attempt last season. That would have placed him outside of the top 100 nationally.
Only 13 teams nationally averaged 5.9 yards per attempt or less in 2022. Miami was 83rd nationally in 2022 averaging 6.9 yards per attempt. Van Dyke finished 64th averaging 7.3 yards per attempt in 2022. With Dawson as offensive coordinator Houston finished 27th averaging 8.2 yards per attempt.
Van Dyke was woefully inconsistent in 2022. Healthy and reportedly a better fit in the Dawson offense, Van Dyke is expected to have a much better season in 2023. Miami is in a better position at QB entering the 2023 season than they were at the end of 2022. Expect Miami to be more exciting to watch offensively in 2023.