Why Cam Ward believes new Miami running back Martinez is ‘the real deal.’ And more UM notes

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.

“I’m just ready to hand the ball off to them,” Ward said, “and let them carry us from time to time.”

Mauigoa’s perspective on rushing quarterbacks

Before he became one of the top linebackers in the Atlantic Coast Conference and before his college career began at Washington State, the Hurricanes’ Francisco Mauigoa football career also saw him play quarterback in high school.

Mauigoa said having that perspective “changed the game for me” in terms of his understanding of what it takes to be effective at attacking the quarterback.

“I think that was very important for me as a linebacker because you know when a quarterback gets hit one time, two times, they kind of feel that,” said Mauigoa, who led the Hurricanes with 18 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with seven-and-a-half sacks last season. “For me, when I was a quarterback, I felt the same way. Just seeing the game at that perspective has been really important to transition my game at a high level.”

Now, that doesn’t mean he’s sympathetic toward quarterbacks getting hit just because he was in that role before.

“At this point as a defensive player, not any more,” Mauigoa said with a smile. “Kind of got used to it.”

He said it

“The use of the portal and how you build your roster is all dependent upon what the starting point is in a program. We have a handful of fourth- and fifth-year guys that are awesome. They need to be complemented by guys that have had a significant amount of snap counts, maturity at certain positions.

“You have guys that have been here, have been through a lot, are driven to compete and win. Then you have some transfer portal guys at some positions that needed bolstering that are driven, that want to win, want to be at Miami. Then they’re sandwiched in there with some ubertalented freshmen classes. You have them at all levels and different positions. That allows us for higher-level play, allows for a great mentorship and development for the younger guys. Now you build the right kind of depth. You’re not staggered where it’s more sustainable.

“The coming years, it bodes well for Miami where it’s layered with upperclassmen are complemented by younger guys.” — Cristobal on the value of the transfer portal