Wisconsin football quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s journey

What did he want with his last year in college football, and which program gave him the best chance at attaining those goals? Of course, he wanted to go to a place where he thought he would continue his career as a starting quarterback, which he was for three seasons at Miami (Florida). But he wanted more than just a place to play.

He wanted a place that gave him a fresh start. He sought a program that could reclaim the player he showed he could be before injuries and other circumstances knocked him off track. He believes he has that with University of Wisconsin football, where he comes in determined to maximize his talent and show the kind of player he can be.

“It was kind of, I guess, disappointing after that second year (of my college career), with all the talk and everything,” Van Dyke said. “After the next season … I had some good points in that next season, but also some low points which made me come back to school. So yeah, lots to prove, just ready to work.”

Van Dyke had gotten to know the university during his recruitment as a high schooler. The former four-star recruit was a top target of Paul Chryst’s staff in the class of 2020, but the current Badgers coaches were able to land him this winter in large part due to offensive coordinator Phil Longo. The system Longo has brought to Wisconsin is similar to the one Van Dyke had the most success with at Miami under offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, and Longo knew Van Dyke’s game well after competing against him twice while coaching at North Carolina.

One of Longo’s roles at UNC was to write notes about opposing quarterbacks and share them with the team’s coaches. He wrote then that Van Dyke was a player he’d loved to have coached, and he now has the chance with the Badgers.

“He can make any throw on the field,” Longo said. “He’s also tall, he’s long and he’s got great vision because of his body type and his stature. And he sees the field well … I don’t know if there’s much thinking going on out there beyond what a veteran quarterback would have to go through.”

Van Dyke, the team’s lone quarterback transfer this season, is splitting No. 1 reps with Braedyn Locke in Badgers spring practices. There have only been three unpadded sessions thus far and most of the work has been on the run game, but hasn’t been much separation between Van Dyke, who’s entering his fifth college season, and Locke, entering his third and second with Wisconsin.

Locke started three games last season due to an injury to starter Tanner Mordecai and had a bit of an edge over Van Dyke to start with his familiarity in Longo’s scheme. Locke’s acuity in the offense solidified him as the backup last season. But coach Luke Fickell believes there’s time and room for growth from Van Dyke in what the Badgers want to do.

“The unique thing and the beautiful thing about some of those guys that are older, obviously they’ve been through a lot, but when they walk in the door, their routines are pretty set, right?” Fickell said. “I mean, they don’t have as much — not saying they don’t have schoolwork — but they have some more things in the graduate program, it’s a little bit more in a routine that they can do it, they aren’t away for a lot of class time. So there are opportunities to spend an inordinate amount of time learning within the system, gives those guys a great opportunity.”

This is Van Dyke’s fourth offense to learn in the past four years, but Longo’s already seen growth in Van Dyke’s understanding of the system, which Van Dyke says puts more responsibilities for protections and changing plays than he’s had before. As Van Dyke knowledge of the offense grows, Longo sees more confidence on the field, he said.

“I think coach Longo does a really good job of going in depth and how to teach the game,” Van Dyke said. “That’s something I never really got taught. I mean over the years, I kind of learned stuff on my own, based off experience.”

The Badgers will continue to split reps with the top two units, Longo said, and the person most deserving of being a starter will emerge.

“I also don’t know other than one time, other than one year at North Carolina, I can’t remember another in recent history where I’ve had to actually make a decision with the head coach about who the starting quarterback is,” Longo said. “That should take care of itself, it should happen on its own. And I think by the time spring ball is over, or by the time we’re midway through August camp, anybody that knows anything that’s here is going to know who that guy is, because he’s declared it himself with his execution.”

Van Dyke’s news conference with reporters Friday was one of the first interviews he’s done since his last game at Miami. His focus upon arriving in Madison was working hard in the weight room and in training sessions to earn his new teammates’ respect. As practices continue, his next challenge is to assert himself as a leader while he competes for his role.

“To be honest with you, I want to see him kind of continue to come out of his shell,” Fickell said. “We had a great example of what Tanner (Mordecai) did last year, but he’s in a battle as well. So I think that for him, learning the offense and repping and working with a guy that’s been in the offense that knows it like the back of his hand in Braedyn, I think that makes it a little bit more, put a little bit more pressure on him, but I think he’s done a great job. I think we’re going to continue to see him come out of his shell and not just a football player, but as a leader as well.”

Some reservations on Van Dyke’s part were to be expected. He had an up-and-down career at Miami that saw him become a lightning rod of criticism despite pushing through injuries to stay on the field. He appeared in 32 games, starting 27 of them, and totaled 7,469 passing yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions over the past three seasons.

Van Dyke understands that quarterbacks are going to be praised or ridiculed depending on the outcome of a Saturday. He’s leaned on family and friends, and worked with a sports psychologist on dealing with the challenges of the world he’s in.

“The quarterback’s always going to be under that pressure,” Van Dyke said. “Learned a lot — stay off social media, no matter if it’s good or bad. I’ve had the highest of the highs back in 21, and then obviously up and downs, lows. And a lot of people said stuff about me, which is what it is, I’m in that spotlight and they say what they want, but at the end of the day you get used to not listening to it. So it doesn’t affect me at all anymore, you just got to live with it.”

Struggles with injuries and inconsistent play during his career left Van Dyke on shaky ground last season with the Hurricanes. He was briefly benched before an injury to his replacement put him back on the field, but the sting of that move is clear when Van Dyke speaks about what he sees in Wisconsin that makes him believe he can play at his best.

“Maybe the confidence around me,” Van Dyke said. “Confidence in myself, because I know I can play at that level. I think when I have that confidence and coaches and trust and everything like that, I think it was very helpful. I know coach Longo and coach Fick would give that to me.”

Van Dyke had a handful of options in the portal, but a few of the factors that put Wisconsin over the top were the weapons present on the roster and the offensive line the Badgers will have.

“Obviously, you want to look at the talent around you to see if it’s a good fit for you,” he said. “And when you look at guys like Will Pauling, Bryson Green, Chez Mellusi, the entire O-line, those guys are really good players. I mean, Will came out at the end of the season last year, had a really good year, and that kind of brought me to, ‘Oh wow, they do got some guys up there.’ Bryson made some great catches, too. I expect him to have an even better season than he had last year, and he probably knows that, too. The offensive line, really solid, experienced guys, and huge. I don’t think I’ve had tackles 6-8 and 6-9 before, so I’m excited for that.”