Mark Fletcher Jr. shares text with late father before career day in Miami win
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Mark Fletcher Jr. was the catalyst for Miami’s 10-3 win over Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday. The junior tailback ran for 172 yards on 17 carries, including a 56-yard run in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter that set up Miami’s game-winning touchdown.
The Miami native had a dream day. His mother drove to College Station to see it. And Fletcher’s father, Big Mark Sr., was watching.
Mark Fletcher Sr. passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in the fall of 2024. For Mark Jr., his father was his best friend, and he has continued to send text messages to his father’s phone before every gameday. ESPN’s Molly McGrath caught Fletcher after the win over A&M and asked what Saturday’s message said.
“I just said, ‘I love you and be with me.’ We’ve got our tradition. I eat oatmeal as my first meal before every game, send him a picture of my oatmeal, text him I love, and then just be with me. And he was with me today, as he is always,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher joined the Miami program in 2023, when it was coming off its worst season in over a decade. The win on Saturday was Miami’s first Playoff victory in its first-ever Playoff appearance.
“It’s just a blessing,” Fletcher said of being able to be a part of it. “I was at the lowest point in my life and this university just fed everything into me and I want to give everything back.”
The 172-yard day was the best of Fletcher’s 3-year career. Entering Saturday, he had just 5 previous 100-yard performances.
“The o-line, the wide receivers, and the tight ends. I told them, ‘Y’all just get hats on somebody and I’m gone.’ That was all them. I just had the ball in my hands.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
