Miami has the talent to win the majority of its conference games this season, but will the new offensive system reignite this offense?

Shannon Dawson comes in as the new offensive coordinator for Miami – a product of the ‘Air Raid’ scheme. The scheme has four to five wide receivers on the field at all times giving the quarterback plenty of options to find an open receiver.

Last season, all of the Miami quarterbacks struggled to find open playmakers in space and the offense suffered overall to get first downs.

Miami ranked 111th in pass offense according to Pro Football Focus, ranking ahead of only two ACC teams (Georgia Tech, and Boston College) out of 14.

Here's a look at how Dawson developed quarterbacks over several stops in college football.

Dawson served as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for West Virginia in 2013 and 2014, his first job in the role on the power five level.

Dawson worked with Clint Trickett, a three-star quarterback out of North Florida Christian in Tallahassee, FL. Trickett was an average but sufficient quarterback during his time with the Mountaineers.

He made a significant improvement from year one to year two under Dawson completing 52.8 percent of his passes in 2013 to 67.1 in year two. Trickett passed for 4,890 yards in two seasons as a Mountaineer throwing for 25 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also made a significant jump in passer rating from 114.6 to 142.3. West Virginia went from a 5-7 season to a 7-6 in that two-year span.

In 2014, WVU finished 12th in the country in total offense, averaging 499.8 yards per game, and was ninth nationally in passing offense at 317 yards per contest.

The Mountaineers averaged 33.5 points per game and set a school record by scoring at least 30 points in eight straight games. West Virginia averaged more than 182 rushing yards per contest.

Based on his work in Morgantown, Dawson was hired at Kentucky to help revitalize the Wildcats but the offense took a step down. UK averaged 26.2 points per game and 387 yards per contest en route to a 5-7 season.

Dawson worked with Patrick Towles that year, a four-star rated quarterback from Ft. Thomas, KY. Towles regressed under Dawson passing for fewer yards (2,718 to 2,148), fewer touchdowns (14 to 9), and more interceptions (9 to 14) than the previous year.

Dawson was fired from Kentucky after one year and landed in Southern Miss in the next season. He spent three winning seasons in Hattiesburg, MS, with a combined record of 21-11.

He worked with three quarterbacks for each season - Nick Mullens, Kwadra Griggs, and Jack Abraham.

Mullens had by far the best season of the three in 2016 passing for 3,272 yards and completing 63.3 percent of his passes. His passer rating was 149.8 passing for 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was sacked 19 times. Mullens was a two-star quarterback coming out Hoover, AL.

Griggs played most of the season but Keon Howard also played a significant amount in 2017. They combined for 3,078 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions at a 56 percent completion rate. Griggs was a three-star JUCO talent from Itawamba in Mississippi and Howard was a two-star from Laurel, MS.

In 2018, freshman Abraham had his best season in his four years as a college quarterback under Dawson passing for 2,347 yards with a 73.1 completion percentage. Abraham was a two-star prospect out of Oxford, MS.

Dawson would leave Southern Miss to arrive in Houston in the following season. In his first year he coached the tight ends and was promoted to OC/QBs coach in 2020.

He worked with Clayton Tune for all three years at Houston – a three-star pro-style quarterback from Carrolton, TX.

Tune improved year after year starting with 2,048 passing yards in 2020, to 3,546 in year two, to 4,074 in year three. Tune passed for 85 touchdowns and 30 interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes in that span.

Houston went 3-5 (COVID year), 12-2, and 8-5 winning two bowl games in the three years with Dawson coaching quarterbacks under head coach Dana Holgerson.

Tyler Van Dyke thrived in a similar offense in the 2021 season under former Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. Based on Dawson’s track record with quarterbacks in recent years, we should see a jump in production from TVD.

In 2021, Van Dyke, a four-star quarterback coming out of Connecticut passed for 2,931 yards throwing for 25 touchdowns and six interceptions (160 passer rating).

Van Dyke regressed in 2020 passing for 1,844 yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions (130 passer rating). The Miami quarterback battled a shoulder injury toward the mid-end of the season which caused him to miss several games.

Van Dyke will be arguably the most talented quarterback that Dawson will work with this season and the potential for TVD will be through the roof.

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