UM, UF become frontrunners to land Heritage’s Fletcher after he decommits from Ohio State
Mark Fletcher’s decision to decommit from the Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 16 was one of the stunners of the 2023 recruiting cycle so far and the college football world reacted in kind.
“Thirty seconds after I posted that,” the four-star running back said Friday after he rushed for nearly 200 yards to lead Plantation American Heritage to a Region 4-Class 2M title with a 31-20 win against Cardinal Gibbons, “it just got crazy.”
Coaches from all across the country flooded Fletcher with text messages and direct messages, trying to get in on the action for the newly available All-American.
It means a potentially changing timeline for Fletcher, who’s the No. 15 running back in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2023. Instead of signing his national letter of intent next month like he planned to do when he was locked in with Ohio State, Fletcher is thinking he’ll hold off until the traditional national signing day next year.
It’s a busy time of year for the senior, who’s two wins away from a 2M championship and now sorting through a host of new suitors, and he doesn’t want to rush into a decision unless he knows he’s ready.
“I probably won’t sign early,” he said. “I’ll probably just take my time, wait until I feel it.”
At the moment, the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Gators are best positioned to land the 6-foot-1, 225-pound tailback. Fletcher long considered Miami to be No. 2 on his list as the Hurricanes were most aggressive in pursuing him while he was committed to the Buckeyes, but Florida — if the adage to follow the visits is to be trusted — has the momentum now. Fletcher decommitted from Ohio State on the heels of an unofficial visit to Gainesville and a return trip next month is the only official visit he has set up so far.
If Fletcher decides to sign early and American Heritage makes the state championship, it’ll be hard for anyone to beat out the Gators because his trip to Florida is scheduled during the bye week before title games and the early signing period is just a few days after the championships.
If Fletcher holds off, it opens the door for both the Hurricanes and anyone else who’s trying to get involved. He’ll have three official visits left to use after he visits the Gators in December.
“Those are the main two, but there’s plenty of other schools,” Fletcher said. “It’s a lot. It’s getting crazy.”
The buzz about Florida, he said, doesn’t come out of nowhere. He was interested in the Gators last year before they fired former coach Dan Mullen, and Florida coach Billy Napier and his staff kept in contact with Fletcher throughout this year. Finally, they got him on campus earlier in November to watch them upset the South Carolina Gamecocks and it vaulted the Gators toward the top of his list.
“I always really liked Florida, but when everybody got fired it was kind of just hard to see how they were going to come back,” Fletcher said, “but they always still recruited me heavily and it was just good to see the new coaching staff, new energy and just be around it for the first time.”
Still, this recruitment has a long way to go, especially if it drags into 2023.
“Right now,” Fletcher said, “I’m just focused on
winning with my team.”