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The Evolution of Mark Fletcher

DMoney said:
You were one of the worst offenders.

I'm wrong often. It's tough to admit, but necessary for growth.

As we've seen with Fletcher and Mendoza, many people struggle to own up.
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No you genuinely were just full of crap about the rb situation and were basically stating everything based on hope - same as Lofton, Lyle, etc (and negatively about Pringle against the actual output btw!) He literally was below average any time he got to the second level until the playoffs. Over 3 full regular seasons. It’s just a fact. Based on everything he had done for 3 full regular seasons of playing he was a solid RB2 and good short yardage and redzone back. Thats what he was. He also has consistently been bad as a pass catcher. I wasn’t being offensive or anything about him, I was accurately describing him.

Fletcher was absolutely great in the playoffs. He was great because unlike every other game and run of his career he stopped looking like Bambi in the open field. If he keeps that up he can be a great RB1 next yr. If he doesn’t he should be nothing more than a RB2 that is a short yardage and redzone guy. Because that’s what the output and performance would reflect. this is all simple.

If you can’t say that he took a MAJOR steps forward in areas they he clearly showed weaknesses during the playoff run you’re simply full of **** lol

Oh we also saw just how bad the “just don’t lose yards” strategy was of purposefully not having any explosivity that you loved lol. Oh and I have been the one most questioning why the **** we haven’t been using much more pistol especially with Fletcher - since last year…
 
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hurricaneman said:
Dmoney, I absolutely love Fletcher and he is one of my favorite Canes of all time. But we cannot deny he had problems in the open field. There were games going back to his freshman year (@FSU and very similar to the Stanford run) ) where he had opportunities to break free and for whatever reason he would run towards defenders. This completely changed in the playoffs.

Every time this comes up you're really sensitive to this criticism but it's not subjective. He did those things. He struggled in those situations. But he evolved and became a complete RB in the playoffs. Everyone evolves. Everyone gets better. When we would speak about his open field issues on this board it wasn't because we wanted to clown him, it was because we knew he could get better.

And he did. And I cannot wait to watch him next year. It's gonna be amazing.
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Nah Fletcher hasn’t gotten better and he certainly wasn’t better in the playoffs regardless what the tape and stats show, our hate filled blinders just finally came off!
 
JamesQuall said:
I don't think you're blind. I think it was 1 of 2 things happening:

1 - Playoffs greatly focused him and made him think less causing him to just run naturally. Mindset of see hole, hit hole, and use his strength when needed pause.

2 - Something (maybe coaching/development) finally clicked to make him actively resist the urge to run like a scatback like a Jaylan Knighton 5'10" 190lbs RB and start running like a big feature back that used his size to his advantage again pause.

Hopefully it was both so that we continue to see it this year. I have a lot of faith that it was development and he will have a big year as long as he stays healthy and focuses on his strengths as well as being able to switch hands like @bshaw28 eluded to.
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That A&M run I thought I broke something in my shoulder high fiving humanity.

Legit MRI joy
 
It wasn’t the best PLAY of the playoffs (Scott’s Pick 6), but McDonough’s “Mark Fletcher REFUSING to go down!” was the best broadcast play CALL of the playoffs for me.

Summed up the play, the player, the team, and the whole **** season.

Really sticks with me as the call of the playoffs.
 
The broadcast call is seared wonderfully into the core of my brain. What an amazing run we all experienced and shared last year. Just incredible. Thanks for the heart and soul Fletch. Now run it back🙏🏻
 
DMoney said:
Fletcher improved, as hard workers often do. He also got healthier and flourished in the pistol formation.

But the OP is a long way to avoid saying, "I was wrong about Fletcher." We all remember who said what.

Mark Fletcher is a championship player and I'm grateful he's a Hurricane.
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plus people are not taking into account enough that yes he was "back" in 2024 after the injury but he wasn't back truly. I think we saw what realy fletcher is now fully healthy at the end of the season, plus the experience factor.

one of my fave canes ever already.
 
I said it since December. It’s the lateral quickness/movement. I don’t know if it’s the foot being finally fully healthy. I don’t know if it’s the mental side of that as well. Probably a combination of both, and just overall confidence. But the way he moved laterally in the playoffs was NOTHING like he had previously. He’s always been a leader. He’s always been strong as ****. He’s always played his *** off. But he was a straight line runner with limited lateral ability. And then he got hurt midseason, and came back a totally different player.

What I saw pre-December 2025 was what I said for 2 years. Excellent college player, not a 1A on a championship team. What he became once he came back from the injury, he is clearly that type of player now. I was aghast watching him the last 5 games. He completely unlocked something laterally he had never shown before. Honestly I couldn’t even believe what I was watching.

Really excited to see what he can do in 2026 with this foot injury obviously long gone and he’s absolutely brimming with confidence now.
 
Dwinstitles said:
When I saw him vs TAMU I was like who is this? Dude looked like a different RB during the playoffs. Maybe I been blind a long *** time but I did not expect it to look the way it did.
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Exactly my experience. When I saw him vs ATM, I was like "Who is this guy and what has he done with Mark Fletcher?" I had never seen Mark run with so much explosiveness. It was awesome!
 
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His ceiling is Mark Walton








Run Away GIF
 
FrancisSawyer said:
Exactly my experience. When I saw him vs ATM, I was like "Who is this guy and what has he done with Mark Fletcher?" I had never seen Mark run with so much explosiveness. It was awesome!
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Exactly, that was the game I was like ok he is a take. Never saw that throughout the season, it made me think the other conferences were dog **** too. That dude made me question life itself lol.
 
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