Tyler Van Dyke and the quarterbacks go first. The spotlight will fixate this season on the kid from Glastonbury, Connecticut. Van Dyke will enter his third-year sophomore campaign with high expectations and deserved superlatives. The 6-4 224 lbs. gunslinger is the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Van Dyke ended the season with six straight games with at least 300 passing yards and at least three touchdown passes. The last time someone accomplished that feat was that little known LSU kid named Burrow in 2019. Joe Burrow also won the Heisman that year.

You can argue that Van Dyke’s true coming out party was versus the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Hurricanes were reeling from four straight losses yet Van Dyke simply decreed, “We aren’t impressed with their defense.” The signal caller backed it up and torched a pretty respectable defense to the tune of completing 25 of his 33 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns.

Van Dyke’s meteoric rise seemed to follow suit and former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee began to call games like he knew what he had. Miami has a true NFL caliber quarterback who is rising quickly on draft boards and has first round aspirations. Coach Mario Cristobal was quick to sing praises for his newly in house acquired quarterback. TVD is no doubt the leader in the clubhouse and will be looked upon to resurge Miami into the precipice of college powerhouses this season.

Jake Garcia is easily a QB1 on someone else’s roster. The former consensus four-star prospect was rated number 18 overall in the ESPN300. The former Under Armour All-American threw for nearly 6000 yards and over 50 touchdowns in his four varsity seasons. Garcia was bit of a journeyman in high school playing from California to Georgia.

As a true freshman Garcia saw action in one game before suffering a season-ending injury. Garcia completed 11-14 pass attempts and amassed 147 yards as Miami coasted to beat the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils at Hard Rock Stadium.

Football is a violent game and Garcia is the heir apparent to the throne. Coach Cristobal is afforded the right of a deep and formidable quarterback room in year one and you have to be prepared for the dreaded, “What if?” Now you don’t want to be kept up at night thinking of such tragedy, but Garcia is a pillow that makes things slightly more comfortable.

Jaccuri Brown (ja-car-ee) enters his freshman campaign  from Valdosta, Georgia. The 210 lbs. passing general from Lowndes high school was rated the number 6th rated dual threat in the country by ESPN. Brown was also a two-time all-state selection for Georgia in their 7A classification.

Brown had some formidable offers to accompany his formidable skillset. This electric matrix moving QB picked Miami over offers from Auburn, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida. Brown was sold on the premise on playing for coach Cristobal after initially committing to former Hurricane head coach Manny Diaz.

Do not undersell this quarterback’s ability to factor in ways that other quarterbacks on Miami’s roster cannot. Is there a possibility to have some sub-packages put in to keep opposing defensive coordinators guessing? If Brown is able to grasp the playbook and let his athleticism shine naturally it is not outside the realm of possibility.

Payton Matocha will enter his fourth season at Miami. A native of Houston, Texas Matocha was named Houston Touchdown Club Private School Co-Offensive Player of the Year in high school. He went to St. Thomas but not my St. Thomas. He was rated a three star by ESPN and threw for a school record 3692 passing yards and 35 touchdowns.

Matocha has often reminded me skill set wise similar to Tony Romo however the fourth-year redshirt sophomore has only saw action in three games during the course of his career. Matocha is looking up at a star-studded quarterback room with a small margin for meaningful playing time. Never say never and you always root for the underdog.