Mark Fletcher Jr. Continues to Redefine His Legacy as a Miami Hurricane
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes have a tenured history of great running backs that have come throughout the history of the program.
It helps when south Florida also has a great recruiting site for some of the best talent in the country. Moreover, it helps when the Canes can keep a few of those star players home who can redefine their legacy as one of the greatest players to wear the orange and green.
Mark Fletcher Jr. is on a run right now that is redefining his legacy as a Hurricanes legend. He started against Texas A&M, and now he is on track to win a national championship for his hometown school.
Mark Fletcher Jr. in the College Football Playoffs:
— Underdog (@Underdog) January 9, 2026
172 yards vs Texas A&M
115 yards vs Ohio State
133 yards vs Ole Miss pic.twitter.com/z7OvClXSbv
Head coach Mario Cristobal loves having Fletcher, but also knows this after years of working the system that was established to get the best version of the star running back.
"I think the fact that he's healthy," Cristobal said. "I think development. I think everybody wants to see a freshman knock it out of the park right away. It's not always the way it's supposed to be or the way it ends up happening.
"A guy that has been in the system in his third year that has seen similar schemes that has run behind certain guys, that has seen certain calls against certain fronts, certain pressures, a guy that has protected against every blitz known to man, like, day after day, year after year, there's nothing more valuable than the mother of all teaching and learning. That's the repetition.
And Mark Fletcher has had hundreds and thousands of repetitions. And when you do that, and when you've been through what he's been through, it just means that much more. And it shows in the way he approaches everything that he does. So I think it's a combination of all those things that's showing up."
After the Fiesta Bowl, Fletcher finally crossed over the 1000-yard mark for the first time in a single season. He has also climbed the ranks as the home of the greatest rusher in Hurricanes history. Fletcher currently sits at No. 8, and with another 1000-yard season, he can finish his Hurricanes career as a top 3 running back all-time.
He has a chance to cap off this legendary run this postseason on his home field at home with another 100-yard game and a ring, the first in over two decades for the Hurricanes.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.