The Freight Train Is Coming Out Of The Backfield Of The Miami Hurricanes
Mark Fletcher, Jr. could have been dismayed when the Miami Hurricanes recruited Damien Martinez through the transfer portal. Instead, he welcomes Martinez to Coral Gables. He sees the two of them running through defenses like a locomotive.
"He's a train," Fletcher said on Tuesday. "I'm going to add another train with him. It's two trains coming at you. Boy, you better get out of the way."
Martinez, a transfer from Oregon State, will get most of the carries in the double-headed monster ground game. He and Fletcher will have a power and speed ground game to supplement quarterback Cam Ward's air assault.
The season opens on Aug. 31 at Florida versus the Gators.
Martinez knows that Fletcher will be lurking on the sidelines looking for reps whenever he can get them.
"Every day you have to earn your place," Martinez said. "You want to improve and be your best self every day. It's earned. Nothing's given. I just want to come out here and prove that I can do that."
The former Beaver rushed for 2,167 yards and 16 touchdowns during his freshman and sophomore campaigns. He was a first team All-Pac 12 (may they Rest in Peace) last season. He was also a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the top running back in college.
Miami running backs coach Matt Merritt likes the fact Martinez has a lot of clicks on his odometer and that he has proven that he can carry the rock and score.
"Damien's played a lot of minutes and had a lot of reps," Merritt said. "So, just the experience he has - even in our meetings already, you can tell the impact he has just with some of the feedback he's able to provide the guys and the input he has.
"There's no better teacher than experience."
Miami's running back room is stellar with six capable backs. Aside from Martinez and Fletcher, they have four other backs that can carry the mail. That's something offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is licking his chops over.
"Adding talent is a great thing," Dawson said. "And Damien is a proven dude. He's a very proven dude. We're going to continue to add guys like that because it makes us better on offense. Everybody needs to also embrace the fact that with more guys in the room, be happy when your buddy makes a play."
Dawson is not committing to a specific schedule of repetitions for each back, but he said it will change from week to week. He is glad to know that he has the horses in his stable, and they are all thoroughbreds.
"We're gonna ride the hot hand, but we're also going to make sure people are out there that are not dead tired. Having rooms the way they are right now, there's no reason for one guy to carry the load.
"We have multiple guys that can contribute to the offense. We're gonna keep that theme of guys getting touches. That's a good thing."
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Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.