Mario Cristobal recruited Mark Fletcher Jr. relentlessly.

The American Heritage star running back was committed to Ohio State for months. He finally backed off his pledge about a month before the Early Signing Period, but the Hurricanes were competing with in-state rival Florida for Fletcher’s services.

“I think I had 247 unreturned text messages from Mark Fletcher when he was committed to another school,” Cristobal said.

The intense recruiting pressure paid off. Fletcher picked the Hurricanes over the Gators. Three years later, the local star has been an indispensable part of Miami’s first trip to the national title game since 2003.

“I just trusted his plan,” Fletcher said after UM’s semifinal win over Ole Miss. “To be where we are now at this point, we have one more to go. We’re just truly blessed for this.”

Fletcher’s road to being the Hurricanes’ backfield star has not been straightforward. There have been bumps. He was Miami’s No. 2 running back in his freshman and sophomore seasons, backing up Henry Parrish Jr. in 2023 and Damien Martinez last season. He compiled 1,121 yards and 14 touchdowns in that role. Pro Football Focus gave him an 84.2 grade as a freshman and a 75.6 grade as a sophomore. Those were good numbers, but he was not yet a featured running back.

“I think everybody wants to see a freshman knock it out of the park right away,” Cristobal said. “It’s not always the way it’s supposed to be or the way it ends up happening.”

Fletcher also had to overcome the death of his father in 2024 — just two days before Miami played Florida State. He decided to play in that game to honor his father and scored a touchdown in the win.

“I miss him every single day,” Fletcher said earlier this season. “But just the way he left his legacy, I just have nothing to do but just carry it in the best way, and that’s what I plan to do.”

Fletcher had more responsibility thrust upon him this season. In his third year, he was expected to be Miami’s premier running back. He started off strong, averaging 5.5 yards per carry in the first five games. But as the season wore on, he got banged up and missed time. Fletcher suffered an injury in Miami’s loss to SMU and missed two games. When he returned, he was slow to regain his momentum. The junior running back had just 49 yards in the Hurricanes’ last two regular-season games.

But after Fletcher had three weeks to heal between Miami’s season finale against Pittsburgh and its playoff opener against Texas A&M, he showed up at Kyle Field fully rejuvenated.

Fletcher carried the Hurricanes to a 10-3 first-round win over the Aggies. He rushed for a career-best 172 yards, and his 56-yard run late in the fourth quarter set up Malachi Toney’s game-winning touchdown. After the game, Cristobal called Fletcher the “heart and soul” of the team.

Fletcher notched another 90 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown in Miami’s upset win over Ohio State. Then he had his second 100-yard playoff game against Ole Miss, rushing for 133 yards in the victory. During the win, he crossed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. PFF has given him an 86.8 grade this season and a 92 running grade; the latter is the fifth-best in the nation among running backs with 100 or more carries.

Cristobal credits Fletcher’s health and experience for allowing the standout running back to play his best football at the most important time of the season. Fletcher will have even more experience next year; he already announced he will return to the Hurricanes for his senior season instead of entering the NFL draft.

“There’s nothing more valuable than the mother of all teaching and learning. That’s the repetition,” Cristobal said. “And Mark Fletcher has had hundreds and thousands of repetitions. And when you do that, and when you’ve been through what he’s been through, it just means that much more. And it shows in the way he approaches everything that he does. So I think it’s a combination of all those things is what’s showing up.”