Miami Hurricanes 50-1 Countdown: Ranking the top 50 post-spring players … No. 14 Mark Fletcher
The Miami Hurricanes have massively reshaped the roster from a year ago with five primary offensive starters gone (QB Tyler Van Dyke, RB Henry Parrish, WR Colbie Young, OL Javion Cohen and Matt Lee) along with seven on the defensive side (DT Leonard Taylor, DT Branson Deen, DL Jared Harrison-Hunte, S Kam Kinchens, S James Williams, CB Jaden Davis and CB Te’Cory Couch).
50. RB JORDAN LYLE … 49. RB CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON … 48. DE COLE MCCONATHY … 47. S ZAQUAN PATTERSON … 46. TE CAM MCCORMICK … 45. NY CARR … 44. JUSTIN SCOTT … 43. OT Markel Bell … 42. RB AJAY ALLEN … 41. TE RILEY WILLIAMS … 40. OL MATTHEW MCCOY … 39. LB CAM PRUITT … 38. DT JOSHUA HORTON … 37. LB RAUL AGUIRRE … 36. S MARKEITH WILLIAMS … 35. S JADEN HARRIS … 34. QB EMORY WILLIAMS … 33. WR JOJO TRADER … 32. D’YONI HILL … 31. RAY RAY JOSEPH … 30. ISAIAH HORTON … 29. MARLEY COOK … 28. JAYLIN ALDERMAN … 27. JADAIS RICHARD … 26. SAMSON OKUNLOLA … 25. ELIJA LOFTON … 24. ELIJAH ALSTON … 23. DAMARI BROWN … 22. REESE POFFENBARGER … 21. ZACH CARPENTER … 20. SAM BROWN … 19. CJ CLARK … 18. ELIJAH ARROYO … 17. WESLEY BISSAINTHE … 16. DARYL PORTER, JR. … 15. DYLAN JOYCE
Which brings us to our annual series breaking down the top 50 players on the current roster. As we go along on this list you’ll get an idea of the overall depth of talent on Mario Cristobal’s team this year as he seeks Miami’s second 10-win season in the last two decades.
Today we are at No. 14:
NO. 14 RB MARK FLETCHER
Why He’s No. 14
Fletcher is one of the more difficult guys to rank on this list, because talent-wise when healthy … and if Damien Martinez wasn’t added to the roster … he’s top 5. All Fletcher did as a true freshman was beat out veteran starter Henry Parrish for the No. 1 job as the year went along. In 10 games with four starts he ran for 514 yards on 105 carries (4.9 YPC) with five TDs. That included a long run of 54 yards vs. Louisville. He also led all backs with seven catches out of the backfield (for 64 yards). He had a pair of 100-yard games at NC State (115 yards) and two games later vs. Louisville (126 yards, 2 TDs). But Fletcher suffered a serious foot injury early in the bowl game against Rutgers and now his season is in doubt. With Oregon State star Martinez on board, perhaps the best course of action here is to redshirt Fletcher. Which is why even as a top 5 or 10 talent on this roster we have him ranked at No. 14. Hopefully this ranking reflects his future value as well as his current status, because more likely than not he will be the team’s lead back in 2025 … at least as things stand now with Martinez saying he plans to turn pro after one year at Miami. As for Fletcher’s Pro Football Focus grades? In 254 reps he graded out third-highest on the offense at 83.9 percent (Xavier Restrepo was at 87.4 percent, Tyler Van Dyke at 85.9 percent). Fletcher was noted with an 84.9 run grade, and he also had an impressive 3.81 yards after contact that led the team.
What he needs to do to move up this list
Get healthy. That’s about it, because Fletcher already proved himself as that physical, downhill type runner that Mario Cristobal loves who just keeps his feet churning and picks up extra yards. Fletcher started to live up to his consensus four-star billing out of Plantation American Heritage last year, but now the injury has set him back.
Realistic season objective
We would not expect Miami to rush Fletcher back given the team’s addition of the workhorse back Martinez, so really this season is all about getting healthy and then coming back even better than the high level of play we saw from Fletcher last season. But if Fletcher is available then he can be a really good No. 2 back and keep Martinez well rested.
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