Summer no offseason for Miami quarterback

Dysert hopes extra work with teammates leads to more wins for RedHawks.

Miami quarterback Zac Dysert looks to improve on his 2009 numbers of 247 completions, 2,869 total yards and 12 touchdown passes. Staff photo by Nick Graham

Nick Graham Miami quarterback Zac Dysert looks to improve on his 2009 numbers of 247 completions, 2,869 total yards and 12 touchdown passes. Staff photo by Nick Graham

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 12:06 AM Monday, August 2, 2010

DETROIT — Zac Dysert has been named as the preseason All-Mid-American Conference first-string quarterback by more than one publication, but the Miami University sophomore isn’t sitting back and enjoying the summer sun. Neither are his teammates.

“It’s been an intense summer,” Dysert said. “We’ve been working hard in the weight room with coach (James) Carsey (Miami’s strength and conditioning coach), running a lot, working hard to get in good shape.”

Dysert and a lot of other RedHawks have been working out together, running plays together, even living together in the hope that once the regular season begins, they’ll start winning together.

This is a program that was fractured into many pieces and forced to start from scratch when Shane Montgomery left as head coach in November of 2008 and was replaced by Michael Haywood. The players were faced with a new coaching staff, a new offense, a new defense, new teammates and a drastically new way of doing things.

Nobody was comfortable, which to a certain extent was a good thing. Haywood’s first job was to shake things up. Mission accomplished.

Now with a year under the new regime under their belts, the players are trying to transform themselves into something more than a group of athletes wearing the same uniform.

Dysert has spent much of the summer with receivers who are expected to catch his passes and linemen who are expected to keep him in one piece. This is a man who wants to improve on the 247 completions, 2,869 total yards, 12 touchdown passes and especially the one victory that marked his redshirt freshman season.

“Me and all the quarterbacks and all the receivers, we’ve been throwing ever since we got back in the summer,” said Dysert, who attended the MAC Football Preview with Haywood and defensive back Jordan Gafford at Ford Field on July 30. “We went home for a week after school and then came right back up here and got right after it.

“We threw three days a week when we got here and then went to five (days),” Dysert said. “At first we just ran routes with each other. As the summer progressed and more guys got here, we went to 7-on-7 every night, working a lot of plays, getting more familiar with the offense.”

They also got more familiar with each other.

“There were about 15 of us that all got an apartment together,” Dysert said, noting that the group included redshirt freshman Austin Boucher, who is his main competition at quarterback, and also six receivers and some linemen. “That was the greatest time I’ve ever had here, spending time with everybody. We would do a lot of things together. The closer everybody gets, the better everybody plays.”

Miami’s preseason camp begins on Saturday with the first official practice. The RedHawks open the season Sept. 4 at Florida.

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