Fletcher, a rookie running back for the Miami Hurricanes, takes on a big workload early on and succeeds.
At Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Mark Fletcher Jr. sighed as the referees reexamined his long run down the right sideline and tumble toward the front right pylon at the corner of the end zone. Fletcher shot past a rusher in the opening series, dribbled around his brick-wall offensive line to the left, and cut for the opposite sideline for a 54-yard gain, all while the Louisville defense hardly touched him. What the officials and Fletcher had suspected—that the running back was out of bounds at the Cardinals’ 1-yard line—was validated by a second inspection.
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During his long run down the right sideline and tumble toward the front right pylon at the corner of the end zone on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, Mark Fletcher Jr. sighed as the officials examined his play again. Fletcher shot past an initial rusher, ducked around the left side of his offensive line, and cut for the opposite sideline for a 54-yard gain, all while the Louisville defense hardly touched him. The running back was out of bounds at the Cardinals’ 1-yard line, as the officials and Fletcher had both determined after a second inspection.
Three players rank in the top ten. Na’eem Offord, a five-star cornerback rated by Parker, is a target Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes will pursue in Birmingham, Alabama. Offord has been to Miami twice since July. The No. 7 player in the country is him. Derek Nicholson is interested in Ellaville, Georgia, linebacker Zayden Walker (ranked eighth nationally) of Schley County, while Jahmile Addae and the defensive back staff are working on Tampa, Florida, Zephyrhills cornerback DJ Pickett (ranked ninth nationally). Walker has also spent a significant amount of time around the Hurricanes.
Iose Epenesa (No. 18 nationally), a defensive lineman from Edwardsville, Illinois, was in camp with Miami when he was a young player, and the team returned for an unofficial visit in January. For a while now, there has been interest in the younger brother of Buffalo Bills defensive lineman AJ Epenesa. Nathaniel Marshall, a defensive lineman for Oak Park (Illinois) Fenwick and the 27th-ranked player nationally, spent the weekend in Miami. Jason Taylor and the defensive staff have high expectations for Amaree Williams, a Palm Beach Benjamin athlete who is ranked No. 30 nationally. Williams has the potential to be a five-star recruit.
interior offensive lineman for Jacksonville Raines Another noteworthy name in that Top 32 is Solomon Thomas, who is ranked No. 22 nationally.
Locally, there are two notable risers, and the hurricane risk is high on both. First, safety Amari Wallace of Miami Central (up 121 spots to No. 46 nationally) and cornerback Gregory Xavier Thomas of Plantation American Heritage (making his Top247 debut at No. 112 nationally) are the two players.
Throughout his recruitment, Wallace has spent a lot of time around the Hurricanes, and Thomas is a large 6-foot-2, 190-pound player who meets a lot of requirements. He was initially introduced to Miami during a team 7-on-7 camp held at the school. Since then, they have been chasing the junior.
Some notable ascents in the second round include linebacker Tarvos Alford of Vero Beach, Florida (up 33 spots to No. 49 nationally) and Cocoa, Florida, EDGE Javion Hilson (up 87 spots to No. 134). Next cycle, both are top targets for Miami.
Linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng (No. 53) of Bradenton IMG Academy, wide receiver Dallas Wilson (No. 54) of Tampa Bay Tech, quarterback Husan Longstreet (No. 56) of Corona (Cali.) Centennial, defensive lineman Jalen Wiggins (No. 57) of Tallahassee James Rickards, and safety Hylton Stubbs (No. 60) of Jacksonville Mandarin are also included in that group.
The Hurricanes are working on a third round grouping that includes Miami Booker T. Washington cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 72), La Verne, Calif., Bonita linebacker Noah Mikhail (No. 87), and Opelika, Ala., defensive lineman Malik Autry (No. 90).
The Plantation American Heritage running back tandem of Deandre Desinor (No. 160) and Byron Louis (No. 191) continue to be highly regarded among the South Florida prospects profiled. Other notable players include cornerback Chris Ewald (No. 164), Homestead wide receiver Cortez Mills (No. 203), Miami Columbus safety Bryce Fitzgerald (No. 219), and Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna Prep.
Gavin Nix, a linebacker from Bradenton IMG Academy (up 90 spots to No. 155), had an outstanding junior season and is still Miami’s top target at linebacker. Both West Chester, Ohio’s Lakota West tight end Luka Gilbert (No. 239) and Leo, Indiana, tight end Brock Schott (No. 163) rank highly on Cody Woodiel’s board.
In the upcoming cycle, the Hurricanes value another tailback, Elba (Ala.) running back Alvin Henderson (No. 177). Ethan Utley (No. 186), a defensive lineman for Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth, has previous college experience. Myron Charles (No. 234), a defensive lineman from Port Charlotte, is among Miami’s best defensive linemen.
Tony Williams, a safety from Palm Beach Central who has been involved with the program for a long time and ranks No. 242 nationally, is one of the last noteworthy names.
