With ‘a ton of juice’ surrounding season opener, Hurricanes begin game week prep for Gators

After four weeks of practices, the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel. The start of a new season is nearly upon the Miami Hurricanes.

The No. 19 Hurricanes are just a few days from their Saturday matchup with in-state rival Florida, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. at a sold-out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, and the energy around the team is palpable.

“There’s a ton of juice and excitement surrounding the game,” Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said Monday, “but we’ve been working for a long, long time in preparation, not only for this game but for this season. It starts with the University of Florida this coming Saturday.”

The Hurricanes understand the significance of this game, of setting the right tone for a critical third season under Cristobal. Miami is projected to be a contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference and have a chance to make it into the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff field if they can live up to their potential.

That first test comes on Saturday.

“Motivation in football should always take care of itself,” Cristobal said. “When you play a rivalry game like this, it tends to crank up a couple of levels, but I think it’s important to always recognize that games like this and games in general are won throughout the offseason. They’re won in your Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday practices. It’s almost you play the game before you play the game. ... Every ounce of focus has to be on the preparation.”

Healthy camp

One of the keys for the Hurricanes entering this week, Cristobal said, is that the Hurricanes are coming out of camp healthy.

“I don’t know if we had a significant injury,” Cristobal said. “We certainly wouldn’t share it at this time. I don’t mean any disrespect out of that, but I can honestly say that we feel very good about our health.”

Cristobal did, however, say sophomore running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who missed all of spring practice due to a Lisfranc injury sustained in the Hurricanes’ 31-24 loss to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28 to end the 2023 season, is “all the way back and ready to play.”

Fletcher, who rushed for 514 yards and five touchdowns on 105 carries as a freshman last season, said before the start of camp that he was off the foot for about five months while rehabbing.

Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said Fletcher “looked pretty good” during camp.

If Fletcher is full go, that’s a good sign for the Hurricanes, who are deep at running back but are hoping to utilize Fletcher as part of a one-two punch with junior and Oregon State transfer Damien Martinez. Both are big backs — Fletcher is 6-2 and 225 pounds, Martinez is 6-0 and 232 pounds — but are also nimble on their feet.

Beyond them, redshirt sophomore Ajay Allen, redshirt freshman Chris Johnson, and true freshmen Chris Wheatley-Humphrey and Jordan Lyle are all in the mix to get playing time as well.

“We’ve got different guys that can do different things,” Cristobal said, “but what they all do really well is they all protect really well, and you’ve got to protect the quarterback if you’re on the field. They all catch the ball well. They run hard. They get downhill, but they can also bounce up and get it outside. They can go through you and around you. They’ve kept it really competitive. They’re improving on a daily basis. They’ve got a ways to go, but we feel that our backs are getting better and better and are gonna be a strong part of our program.”

The Hurricanes last year used a by-committee approach with their running backs. Four players — Fletcher, Allen, Henry Parrish Jr. (now at Ole Miss) and Don Chaney Jr. (now at Louisville) — split reps in 2023.

“If you look at what we did last year, we rolled running backs in there,” Dawson said. “When somebody was hot, they were hot, but you look at a running back’s job description, and it’s tough. The things that they have to do in the course of a game, and in the course of a year, it can bring some wear and tear on your body. I do think having some people that can go in and kind of share that abuse is important. They have to pick up blitzes from linebackers that are really talented. They have to run routes and catch balls and get tackled. They get hit in every different direction, which is kind of unique to their position relative to other positions. I just think it’s important with running backs to share the wealth, and we have a room that there’s no reason not to. We have talented guys that we trust to put them in there and let them play ball.”

‘We certainly know who’s going to be playing’

The Hurricanes did not release a depth chart on Monday and Cristobal said there are still a couple starting spots up for grabs. Most notably, the Hurricanes had one spot on their starting offensive line up for grabs as well as determining rotations for the defensive line and secondary.

But as for players who will have roles on Saturday, Cristobal said that has been all but decided.

“We certainly know who’s going to be playing for us,” Cristobal said. “There are a couple [spots] you’ll let play out throughout the week in terms of who actually gets the first snap or whatnot, but in terms of the roster, the guys that are actually going to be playing, the guys that have legitimate roles defined, and those that have some reserve roles, that is for the most part settled.”