Miami has recruited well at running back over the years from a prospect perspective The Hurricanes landed several blue-chip recruits, but the success rate is abysmal and the production has not been up to par with what many have considered 'Running Back U.'

Head Coach Mario Cristobal, like so many other positions, lumped multiple highly touted running backs together in this 2023 class and the highest-ranked of the two is American Heritage Plantation (FL) four-star Mark Fletcher. See how Fletcher compares to a former All-Pro.

Fletcher is a former Ohio State commit and his addition to this class is not for any lack of interest from the top programs in the country. The bruising back is one of the more productive running back in South Florida's recent history, breaking every single-season rushing record at national powerhouse American Heritage.

Many dwell on Fletcher's power and size, but he has a rounded-out game that makes him a potential early contributor and a potential 'Option A' in 2023 for Miami. Despite being such a threat when receiving just a hand-off, Fletcher had five games with three or more catches, including a four-reception, 94-yard performance against nationally ranked Chaminade-Madonna in 2021.

The local star proved that he was among the nation's best this year by totaling over 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns playing a gauntlet of a schedule. The most impressive part about those numbers - he averaged 8.6 yards per carry and 12.1 yards per catch.

"Mark Fletcher's been a Hurricane fan since he's been a little dude," Coach Cristobal said. "Powerful, [from a] championship program, elusive, strong, fast, smart. He has all the traits like Chris [Johnson] that you want in a running back. 6'2 215 pounds."

Fletcher commonly gets compared to former Alabama ball carrier Derrick Henry but he is not as big and is a better receiver out of the backfield. His ability to do at least a little bit of everything gives off Arian Foster vibes to me. Foster was a tall back (6'1") that hovered around 230 pounds in his prime. Both players early on played linebacker early on and transitioned their punishing playing style to the offensive side of the ball.

The production coming out of high school was very similar for both players. In each of their final two seasons, both players had 2,000-yard campaigns and approached 40 touchdowns total (Fletcher - 37, Foster - 41).

Foster was a smooth back with power that flashed receiving chops while at Tennessee. In his lone season of over 200 carries, he had 1500 total yards and 14 touchdowns, helping the Volunteers reach double-digit wins and finishing the season as the 12th-ranked team in the nation.

The former all-pro did not wow scouts during the pre-draft process, running a 4.65 40-yard dash at his pro day, but powered out 23 bench-press reps of 225 pounds. Fletcher is never going to be a track star, but his game speed and power, similar to Foster, help him break off chunk runs and consistently churn out positive yards.

In the NFL, Foster had four seasons of 1,200 or more rushing yards and double-digit scores. The size, athletic traits, and production of Foster mean the future of the running back position is likely to be bright for Miami with Fletcher running behind the elite 2023 offensive line group coming in.

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