Miami's Mark Fletcher Jr. Rebounds From National Championship Loss Only One Way
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Some my undervalue the importance of following your heart and understanding the process.
That is something that keeps Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher Jr. going. It also helps him keep the team in order as one of the leaders of the 2026 squad.
As Mario Cristobal said, "he trusts these men with his life," and Fletcher looks to make good on the promise as a leader and as a player.
"Really my message to them is just stay where your feet are," Fletcher said. "We can't be complacent. We have a lot of great players. I know it's kind of hard not to think about last year. Oh, we were so close. Truly it cannot help us with anything we have this year.
"But I can kind of take that back. We can take a lot of good things to help us. All the bad things, we got to continue to learn from them. I'm going to continue to emphasize that message: stay where our feet at, let's dominate this team tomorrow, let's dominate fall camp, things of that nature."
🆕🔥: Mark Fletcher Jr. on Rebounding from the Indiana National Championship Loss Going into This Season
— Justice Sandle (@Justice_News5) July 15, 2026
"Truly it just cannot help us with anything that we have this year. But like we could take a lot of good things that we did, you know, to help us with all the bad things we… pic.twitter.com/qLMujGJ5Xy
The 27-21 National Championship loss to Indiana still weighs on Fletcher's heart, even though his attitude doesn't show it. He can still think about it, but his focus is on looking back at the moment as an opportunity to improve ahead of the 2026 season.
"Definitely that all the little things matter," Fletcher said reflecting on the National Championship game. "It takes an entire team to reach that end goal. It can't be just one side, it's got to be everybody. Everybody has a role and everybody has to do 110%, they have to give 110% effort in their role. Man, all the things matter. Special teams matter. You got to be locked in on things like that.
"Me and the leaders, we're going to continue to emphasize that message going into a great summer and finish it off in the fall camp going into the season."
Last season was Fletcher's breakout year, and it started later than expected in the College Football Playoff. He arrived right on time for the Canes, who rode his back until the final drive against the Hoosiers.
Moreover, even in the loss, Fletcher is grateful for the opportunity to play football and is glad he had fun in those moments.
"Of course, the hard work," Fletcher said. "I guess I tapped back into having fun. Football is supposed to be a fun game. For a long time I guess, like, with a lot of adversity I faced, it was kind of hard to just find that happy medium of having fun, but I got to be locked in as well. When I truly just tapped into how I used to play the game, have fun, man, I just reaped the benefits of that."
Fletcher and the Hurricanes now prepare for fall camp as the 2026 season quickly approaches.
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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.
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