Count quarterback Cam Ward among the people excited to see what running back Damien Martinez will bring to the Miami Hurricanes’ offense. Ward has seen Martinez up close over the past two years when both were in the Pac-12. Ward played for Washington State before transferring to the Hurricanes. Martinez spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Oregon State. In two seasons at Oregon State, Martinez tallied 355 carries for 2,167 yards and 16 touchdowns through 25 games, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. As a sophomore, Martinez last season ran for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns. “Damien’s the real deal,” Ward said. “I can say that just watching him from across the sideline. He’s the real deal. Not a lot of running backs right now are moving laterally like him and can get downfield like him. He sees the field in blitz protection and he can catch the ball really well out of the backfield. He catches the ball extremely well. I’m just excited to see him implement his own personality and his own success to our offense.” Martinez is expected to get the bulk of Miami’s carries this season, but the Hurricanes are noticeably deep at running back heading into this season.
They return sophomore Mark Fletcher Jr. and redshirt sophomore Ajay Allen, who combined for 875 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns as part of UM’s four-man running back attack in 2023. Henry Parrish Jr. and Don Chaney Jr., the other two who were part of the rotation, transferred to Ole Miss and Louisville, respectively. Neither Fletcher nor Allen participated in spring practice. Coach Mario Cristobal said Allen is ready to go and Fletcher, who reportedly has been dealing with a Lisfranc injury, is trending toward returning. Cristobal also noted that redshirt freshman Chris Johnson could get an expanded role after impressing during spring camp. The Hurricanes also added a pair of true freshmen in Hollywood South Broward’s Chris Wheatley-Humphrey and Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jordan Lyle in the past recruiting cycle.
