4* RB Mark Fletcher Decommits from OSU

Submitted by Caesar on November 17th, 2022 at 12:00 AM

Here's the article and here's Fletcher 247 page.

Besides the lovely schadenfreude angle (he was OSU's only RB commitment in the cycle), this is Michigan-relevant because the young man had Michigan in his final four before committing (joining the Buckeyes, Miami (YTM), and PSU). 

The author thinks that he may be looking to stay closer to home after some Miami (YTM) and Florida flirtations, but it's unclear.

Fun/depressing fact I saw in a similar article: 'Bama has two 5* RBs in the '23 class. 

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2023 recruiting
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Mark Fletcher

1VaBlue1

November 17th, 2022 at 7:57 AM ^

Doesn't want to play in the cold?  Then he's not much of a football player, so do not want.  There are plenty of cold weather teams in the NFL, too - is going to say no to them?  Anyone that says no because of weather is a dummass I wouldn't want on my team anyway.  Such a person is soft.  So he'd fit right in at OSU - but at least their softies do actually come out in cold weather, even if they don't 'play'...

 

Joined: 01/31/2016

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Perkis-Size Me

November 17th, 2022 at 8:54 AM ^

I hope he knows that if he has NFL aspirations, then at least half of the NFL plays in what would be considered cold weather cities. So if he has aversions to cold, that's going to be a problem for him in 4-5 years. 

His choice, his life, but if it were me, I'd rather sign up to play for a contender who will allow me to showcase my abilities for the next level and put me in position to play for something meaningful, even if you play some of your games in the cold weather, than go play for a dumpster fire Miami or Florida program. 

It's Miami. Miami is a fun place. I get it. But that program is not going to be playing for anything meaningful for a little while, and Florida looks like its going to have to wait out Kirby Smart for a long, long time.

Meanwhile, OSU and Michigan are two of the top three teams in the country and at least one of them is going to the CFP this year. Both of them are going to give you the ball and let you make plays. 

Joined: 11/30/2011

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funkywolve

November 17th, 2022 at 10:41 AM ^

What's your definition of 'rarely run the ball'.  They are averaging 36 rush attempts and 30 pass attempts per game this year.  Last year was 32 rush attempts and 38 pass attempts.  In 2020 it was 43 rush and 28 pass and in 2019 it was 47 rush and 28 pass.

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d_ronii

November 17th, 2022 at 6:23 AM ^

I would hope that eventually 5* running backs would realize Michigan is the best place for them to showcase their talents and be knocking down our door. Similar to how every 5* QB and WR signs up with OSU.

 

Maybe they will realize that after Blake and Donavan win their Heismans and show up in those Heisman house commercials every Saturday. 

Joined: 09/09/2012

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Grampy

November 17th, 2022 at 8:13 AM ^

In their heyday, Barry/Bort/Early Chryst (I don't recognize the Gary Andersen era) had great OLs and produced a string of NFL grade running backs, most recently Jonathan Taylor.  Given Michigan's return to OL glory, we will have no problem recruiting stud running backs, e.g. Cole Cabana.  To quote Field of Dreams, If you build it, they will come.

Joined: 06/29/2012

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JMo

November 17th, 2022 at 8:26 AM ^

This is truly anecdotal... but here are my four favorite Michigan RBs of the 21st Century

Mike Hart (3.5*)
Karan Higdon (3* Composite)
Hassan Haskins (3* Composite)
Blake Corum (4* Composite)

Here are the 3 five star RBs Michigan has pulled in that same time

Kelly Baraka
Kevin Grady
Derrick Green
Plus lets throw Ty Isaac in there as a transfer

 

I'm not going to sit here and claim that all star-gazing is hokum. But I think it's also safe to say that RB might be one of those positions that doesn't really require "the best guy" so long as you've got good talent assessment and a great line.

Joined: 12/14/2011

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JMo

November 17th, 2022 at 8:46 AM ^

He's listed as a 5* on 247Sports. https://247sports.com/player/kelly-baraka-48203/

Obviously 247 didn't exist, back then it was Rivals Scout (Insider?) and ESPN plus the old school phone guys were still around-ish. But memory says that he was widely considered to be what we'd refer to as a 5-star now. Stars definitely existed, composite scoring and an attempt to find a summary opinion across the services didn't. 

Joined: 12/14/2011

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St Joe Blues

November 17th, 2022 at 10:40 AM ^

Of course you would. Those two backs have heart. I watch the new Dr. Pepper commercial where the star player is standing by a lake and gets lambasted by a group of fans for not posting his angst at losing on any social media. His response is that it's just a game where boys throw a ball around, or something like that. That makes me think of Derrick Green. He never showed any heart, never seemed like he even cared.

Talent will only get you so far. If there's no drive, then forget it.

Joined: 01/08/2017

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Clarence Beeks

November 17th, 2022 at 10:49 AM ^

It’s almost apples to oranges to include Baraka in there, to be honest. I say that because Grady and Green simply didn’t pan out on the field at the college level, having had the chance, whereas that wasn’t the case with Baraka. He actually WAS that good on the field, but his career was derailed by the values of a bygone era off the field. Simply put, what derailed his career wouldn’t have barely a decade later. It was interesting to see his name come up in this thread, having not thought about him for years until I was watching the Auburn game this past weekend with Carnell Williams as their interim head coach. They were in the same class, and Baraka was rated ahead of him coming out of high school. Williams was amazing at Auburn and a stud in the NFL. If you want to take it further, it’s an interesting thought exercise to consider whether had he simply chose the Notre Dame “hat” instead what could have been for him.

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G. Gulo of the Dale

November 17th, 2022 at 8:25 PM ^

Indeed.  I was going to add his name to the pile.  While he fell during the last months of his recruitment, he was the no. 1 back in the 2016 class for much of the recruiting cycle.  I think he ended up as the no. 4 overball RB, around 100 in the composite rankings.  Ended up playing at four different programs, I believe.

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wolve1972

November 17th, 2022 at 1:19 PM ^

Read on 247 that their team average / player actually went up after his decommitment to 93.30 per recruit. In reality, they'll probably have their top 4 RBs - Henderson, Williams, Pryor and Hayden - returning next year which could have also played a factor. 

This is not a huge loss for OSU as Fletcher's 247 average is 0.9106 which is a low 4-star. They'll probably flip someone ranked even higher in this class or the portal. 

What is important to watch with this one is 5-star Brandon Innis - OSU's top recruit as a WR and an absolute impact player. Why? Because he's Fletcher's HS teammate at American Heritage in Ft. Lauderdale and also has both Florida and Miami flashing the NIL money at him. He says he's staying at OSU BUT.........

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