Shannon Dawson on Miami Hurricanes’ Girard Pringle Jr. and Lack of Opportunity

MIAMI, Fla. – Entering the 2026 college football season, the Miami Hurricanes arguably had the nation's deepest running back room and seven games in, sophomore Girard Pringle Jr. has gotten the short end of the stick.

The 20-year-old has just 86 rushing yards on 29 carries and scored one touchdown, which came against Florida A&M. In hindsight, it's a more productive role than last season's first seven games. Pringle Jr. had 60 rushing yards on 10 carries and scored three touchdowns against Bethune-Cookman, South Florida, and Stanford, but didn't play against Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, and Louisville.

In Monday's media availability, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson described the Tampa (Fla.) native as "trending upward."

"That running back room is talented," he said. "When you get those opportunities, you have to take advantage of them. Pringle is more than capable, but it just so happened the fact that certain things haven't worked out exactly the way it has in the past. It has nothing to do with his ability; he just needs more opportunities."

Clearly, senior Mark Fletcher Jr. is the main option of the Hurricanes' running back room, then behind him was primarily CharMar "Marty" Brown, until he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Wake Forest. It allowed freshman Javian Mallory to burst into the backup job and take full advantage; currently 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 444 rushing yards and tied for fourth with seven touchdowns from the ground.

If that wasn't enough of a challenge, Jordan Lyle is returning to full form. In four games played, he's on pace to surpass last season's production, currently with 89 rushing yards in 19 carries. Lyle had a 20-yard dash against Pitt in the fourth quarter, breaking off several tackles for a first down. The Hurricanes scored a touchdown on the same drive.

"That [running back] room's crowded," Dawson added. "If you're not one of the top two, then you're not probably going to get 10 carries. When you get a couple, you have to make your due."

Pringle Jr. showed promising flashes in the final four regular-season games last year. He combined for 302 rushing yards on 48 carries and scored two total touchdowns against Syracuse, North Carolina State (started), Virginia Tech, and Pitt. Pringle Jr. brought electrifying speed to the Hurricanes' running back room.

After the National Championship loss to Indiana, the former four-star recruit reportedly planned to enter the transfer portal, as rumors circulated that Alabama was making an aggressive push. Instead, Pringle Jr. stood by the Coral Gables program, despite returning to a heavily experienced running back room.

This was always going to be the challenge for the Hurricanes' backfield talent. As there can only be one carrier on the field, it limits opportunities for Pringle Jr. to shine. The Hurricanes risk him exploring the transfer portal again in January; however, that will be a situation to potentially handle at another time. The focus is currently on UNC this Saturday, as kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. E.T. and will be televised on ABC.

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