Previewing a talented Miami Hurricanes running back corps after significant churn
The Hurricanes return a pair of key running backs and added a major transfer at the position in the offseason.
The 2024 season is on the horizon, and Hurricanes fans hope to see a major step forward in Year 3 of the Mario Cristobal era.
As Miami keeps adding talent through high school and transfer portal recruiting, UM appears poised to be a major contender in the ACC this season.
This summer, we will take a look at a different position group each week to see who departed, who arrived and who should have big impacts this year.
We started last week with Cam Ward and UM’s quarterbacks. Now we look at Miami’s talented group of running backs.
Who left
The Hurricanes lost a lot of talent from their running back room this offseason.
Henry Parrish Jr., a Miami native and Columbus High alum, led UM in rushing yards the last two seasons. Last year, he had 625 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 100 carries. Parrish left via the transfer portal and ultimately returned to Ole Miss, where he started his college career.
A second Miami native also left through the transfer portal: Don Chaney Jr., the Belen Jesuit alum, suffered several injuries while at Miami, but he rushed for a career-high 478 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games. Chaney went to ACC rival Louisville, who faces Miami in Kentucky on Oct. 19.
The Hurricanes also lost TreVonte’ Citizen in the portal. Citizen, a former four-star prospect, never got on the field for Miami in two seasons. He suffered a devastating knee injury in his first fall camp and spent the last two years recovering. Citizen did participate in spring practice this year, and he transferred to McNeese State.
Who returns
Miami returns three running backs from last year’s team, all of whom have a potentially large role on this year’s team.
Ajay Allen, a redshirt sophomore, has seniority in that group. He ran for 361 yards and five touchdowns on 70 carries last season, which was his first at UM. Pro Football Focus gave Allen a solid 77.1 offensive grade with a 78.3 running grade.
Allen also graded out well in pass-blocking, earning a 75.6 pass-blocking grade in 28 snaps.
However, Allen missed all of spring practice due to injury.
Similarly, standout sophomore Mark Fletcher Jr. missed all of spring practice with an injury. Cristobal said he is expected back in time for the season, which will be a boon to Miami’s offense.
Fletcher had a breakout freshman year in 2023, racking up 514 yards and five scores on 105 carries. The American Heritage alumnus brings a combination of speed and power to the running back corps; Pro Football Focus gave him an 84.2 offensive grade and an 84.9 rushing grade. His rushing grade was third in the nation among freshman running backs who had at least 20 carries last year.
“Imagine when he really gets comfortable,” said former UM safety James Williams, who was a high school teammate of Fletcher’s. “This is just now. He’s getting his feet wet. Wait till he really simmers down and can be Mark Fletcher for real. That kid’s a problem.”
Miami also returns redshirt freshman Chris Johnson Jr., who received limited snaps last year. The Dillard alum played in four games, running 11 times for 73 yards and a touchdown. Johnson, a former Sun Sentinel track athlete of the year, has elite speed.
Who arrived
The first arrival is a new UM running backs coach. Former position coach Tim Harris Jr. departed so he could return to UCF for a position on Gus Malzahn’s staff.
Cristobal filled the role by hiring Matt Merritt, the former running backs coach at USF.
Merritt will have a strong group to work with, largely in part to who arrived in Coral Gables this offseason.
The biggest addition to the group is former Oregon State running back Damien Martinez, a PAC-12 star who brought his talents across the country.
Last year, Martinez rushed for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns and was a first-team All-PAC-12 selection. He has 2,167 rushing yards and 16 scores in his college career.
Martinez earned an 83.1 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus last year. He also had an 88.1 run grade, which was 40th in the nation among running backs with 100 or more carries last year.
Martinez, who is listed at 6-0 and about 230 pounds, was listed as the No. 2 running back in the transfer portal by 247Sports.
The Hurricanes also added two running backs in their 2024 high school recruiting class. Both halfbacks, Jordan Lyle and Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, are Broward County natives. Lyle played at perennial powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas, while Wheatley-Humphrey went to South Broward.
The two incoming Hurricanes were the Sun Sentinel co-offensive players of the year for Broward County large schools.
Wheatley-Humphrey, a three-star prospect, ran for 2,076 yards and 16 touchdowns and helped his team win its first district title in more than 25 years. He arrived on campus in time for spring football.
Lyle, who was a late flip from Ohio State, was rated a four-star prospect. He had 1,376 rushing yards rushing and 21 scores last season.
“Two guys that just amassed a massive amount of yardage this year,” Cristobal said. “Tough yards, open-field yards, made-people-miss yards, catching the ball out of the backfield. Really physical. Really talented. Really intelligent — high IQ guys, both on and off the field. Thrilled to have them.”