Who Will Replace Damien Martinez in Miami’s Backfield in 2025?

The Miami Hurricanes football team held another spring practice session on Thursday, and it was their first practice this season in full pads. The Miami offense was great last season, and a big part of that was because of NFL-bound running back Damien Martinez. He has left a void that will need to be filled.

The two players that are expected to lead the backfield this year are junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr and sophomore rusher Jordan Lyle. Running backs coach Mark Merritt spoke on both of these potential stud backs. 

Merritt was asked about the development of Fletcher Jr:

“He really reshaped his body, which has been good. And obviously, the fact that this is his first spring ball. Obviously, that first spring, he was still in high school, couldn’t leave early, and then last year, he was dealing with the injury. So, for him to actually have a spring for the first time has been huge for him in his development. He’s trying to take a lot of steps in the leadership part, which he has. A lot of guys following him. A lot of the guys believe in him. He has that clout, right? Like the kids say. And he’s really starting to run with it. I think we’re really, as a staff, trying to push the leadership of the older guys. We lose guys like Cam [Ward], lose guys like Jalen Rivers, some of those leaders on the offense [and we’re] looking for other guys to step up and hoping Mark will end up being one of those.”

He was also asked if there was more urgency for Lyle to step up in the absence of Martinez:

“I think the sense of urgency is there for everybody. It’s important. We lost Dame, and Dame had a great year [last season]. But they know that next guy’s up, next man’s up, and whoever’s in that room falls in line with that. So, whether it’s Jordan, Mark [Fletcher Jr.] , whether it’s Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, whether it’s Terrell Walden II or even [Girard] Pringle, Jr., it’s all of them. They’ve got to be able to step up, and in order to get that done, you’ve got to be consistent in the things that you do on a daily basis, from the film study, learning the installs, how you practice, everything. So, yeah, Jordan fits in that mold and obviously, lots expected from him, but you’ve still got some ways to go in a lot of areas and he’s working on it.”

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