ESPN analyst Todd McShay shows some love for Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher
ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay had lots of positive stuff to say about Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher.
Fletcher had a huge game in the Hurricanes' victory against the Texas A & M Aggies in the first round of the College Football Playoff. He finished with 172 yards on 17 carries.
"Fletcher was flat out awesome," McShay said. "One hundred and 72 yards rushing on 17 carries. And I'll be honest with you, through the game, I was like, `I don't understand why they're not running the ball. Fletcher's rolling and this offensive line is actually leaning on and wearing down this fast but not massive defensive front."
The win advances the Hurricanes to next round to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in Dallas. McShay initially thought the `Canes should have ran Fletcher more but had a difference of opinion after reviewing the game film.
"I thought Fletcher should've had 30 carries but then I went back and I looked," McShay said. "Seventeen for 172, that's 10 yards per carry. Miami only had 47 offensive plays in this game and they only threw the ball 20 times. So while it felt like they should've run the ball more, the percentage was pretty good."
LATEST ON FLETCHER
The Miami Hurricanes have apparently received an early Christmas gift.
According to ESPN, Fletcher has informed the program he is returning for the 2026 season. Fletcher is coming off a 173-yard performance in last week's win against the Texas A & M Aggies.
The victory moved the Hurricanes to the next round to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in Dallas Dec. 31.
"Nobody believed that we could do this," Fletcher said. "We never really worried about those voices anyway, but we're just very grateful, very blessed that we're in this position, and we're 1-0 today, we're going to celebrate this and go 1-0 next week. It's just a blessing. I'm grateful for this opportunity. Man, I definitely wasn't expecting this, but man, I'm just happy that we won."
Fletcher played a huge role in the victory. It pushed the Hurricanes one step closer to winning their first national title since 2001. Fletcher said the team had a championship-worthy celebration afterward.
"It was turned," Fletcher said. "I wish you could have seen it. It was turned. You're probably going to see some screen recorded Instagram Lives, but yeah, we was turned."
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of MiamiRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com