UM’s Cristobal offers update on Fletcher injury, a Cane who could change positions, more

Running back Mark Fletcher, coming off a serious foot injury sustained in the Pinstripe Bowl, should be ready to return this summer, coach Mario Cristobal said Tuesday.

“He’s doing well,” Cristobal said. “Mark is itching, chomping at the bit to get out there again and we expect him back I’d say in probably two months, 2 1/2 months. We expect him to be full speed by early summer.”

Fletcher averaged 4.9 yards per rush on 105 carries as a freshman last season. He was a starter in the Pinstripe Bowl loss to Rutgers before the injury happened.

UM will seek at least one veteran running back in the portal after Henry Parrish told UM he’s leaving.

UM is seven players above the 85-player scholarship number but has until August to be in compliance with that.

Cristobal said UM will be “focusing on everything” in the portal market.

A fresh set of players can enter the portal between April 15 and 30.

“There will be an opportunity to bring in a good handful of guys and maybe more at different positions,” he said. “As you assess spring and go further into it we’ll have a better idea what we go after.

“We are going to be very aggressive making sure our roster, have to get to 85, find a way to get there and make sure everyone involved is given the best opportunity. But you do what’s best for the University of Miami. That’s the bottom line, and we’re going to do that.”

Cristobal addressed other issues on Tuesday morning:

▪ On the running backs beyond Fletcher, Cristobal said TreVonte’ Citizen - who is practicing after missing two years following a major August 2022 knee injury - is “a guy that is getting better coming off of a major injury.

“Chris Johnson has had a great spring, Ajay Allen is on the mend; he’ll be back. [Early enrollee] Chris Wheatley-Humphrey looks really good. And we signed a guy who was a top back in the country on paper [Jordan Lyle], a guy on our board as a top guy in the country as well.

“He’s run a system that is similar to ours. So we feel really good about the competitive nature of that room and what we have heading into the season.”

Lyle is not yet enrolled.

▪ Second-year receiver Robby Washington worked at cornerback on Tuesday.

“Robby has had a really good spring at wide receiver,” Cristobal said. “This is a really good time to take certain guys and experiment.... Maybe we can use their skill set to help the team in a certain way, and he’s a team guy first.

“That’s something we’ll experiment with throughout the course of spring football. He’s really good, a natural athlete.”

▪ Asked about new quarterback Cam Ward fumbling a lot (25 times in two years at Washington State), Cristobal said:

“Ball security has got to become second nature. He’s very analytical, very hard on himself, and [offensive coordinator] Shannon Dawson is very tough on those quarterbacks also.

“Some of the read option plays that require ballhandling, as well as the pocket getting a little bit muddy and elusiveness in those situations has been a big point emphasis. We’re getting better.”

Washington State radio analyst Alex Brink, a former WSU quarterback, told The Miami Herald this offseason that Ward has a “bad habit of keeping one hand on the football when scrambling.” Brink is hopeful he will learn from that.

▪ Cristobal said that freshman linebacker Cam Pruitt “is going to be a spectacular player.”

Cristobal praised Raul Aguirre, who is filling in for injured middle linebacker Francisco Mauigoa.

And starting weakside linebacker Wesley Bissainthe “has done a great job in terms of leadership,” Cristobal said.

▪ Defensive end Akheem Mesidor, cornerback Damari Brown and tight end Cam McCormick returned from injury after missing the first week of spring practice.

Mesidor figures to be a starter this season; he appeared in only two early-season games last season before a lower-body injured sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

“He’s one of the higher level players in the country,” Cristobal said. “When you combine guys like that and Rueben Bain, we were so productive when those guys were in there together along with Nyjalik [Kelly].

“We added Elijah Alston as an upperclassman and now these young guys are learning behind them.... You have impactful and powerful edges.”

Kelly is out this spring with an injury but will be back this summer.

As for Brown, he’s competing with Jadais Richard and others for a starting boundary cornerback job opposite Daryl Porter Jr.

McCormick -- the first player in college football history to be granted a ninth year of eligibility -- will compete with Riley Williams and freshman Elija Lofton for snaps behind Elijah Arroyo.

▪ Bain didn’t practice Tuesday, but it’s nothing major.

“He’s good, a little bit banged up so we held him out of practice today,” Cristobal said.

▪ Cristobal wants more from both his offensive and defensive lines: “Our offensive line and defensive line has to play with more grit, more toughness, more physicality. We have to continue to improve.”

NOTABLE

▪ Luis Cristobal remained the first-team left guard on Tuesday. Matthew McCoy, another candidate for that job, remains at right tackle, with starter Francis Mauogia out for the spring with an injury.

▪ Freshman early enrollee Jo-Jo Trader made another outstanding catch, continuing a strong spring.

▪ Linebacker Chase Smith, who has battled injuries throughout his career, has had a solid spring and drew a shout-out from Cristobal.