Ohio State has landed its first premier running back of the 2023 cycle.
Four-star Florida running back Mark Fletcher saw all he needed to on his Ohio State visit April 1-3 to make his decision just more than a week later, as he committed to the Buckeyes on Tuesday.
From the way he spoke of Ohio State after his visit, it was only a matter of time before he signed up to join the scarlet and gray.
“Coach [Tony] Alford, I love the way he approached me and the conversation that we had,” Fletcher told 247Sports of his visit. “I could tell that he's different from a lot of coaches and everybody that has met him has had nothing but great words to say about him. He can develop me and get me to the next level.”
With Fletcher on board, the Buckeyes are landing a tailback capable of making life miserable for opposing linebackers in the years to come and for Ohio State’s scout team in the immediate future.
On The Field
From the first clip on Fletcher’s highlight reel, it becomes apparent the 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back is a hard man to bring down. He can make a linebacker miss a tackle if their angle to the ball is even slightly off, and punishes defenders with his running style and stiff arms. If an undersized high school defensive back tried to take Fletcher down by himself, well, Godspeed to that man.
Fletcher isn’t the fastest running back prospect you’ve ever seen, but he still has enough burst and side-to-side agility that combined with his raw strength should make him effective at the next level. As you’d expect, he shows no fear running in between the tackles, and loves the bully-ball style that involves just flat-out trying to run people over. It may take a year or two of conditioning and strength training for that style to carry over to the collegiate level when he has to face bulked-up upperclassman defenders.
If there’s one aspect Fletcher should be able to transition well immediately, it’s pass protection. His body size is perfect for helping to chip defensive linemen or linebackers in pass pro, and he’s never been afraid to do the dirty work even when he doesn’t have the ball.
Pass catching has never been something Fletcher has been asked to do a ton of, though it’s not necessarily a weak point of his game, either. The Florida standout has been serviceable on screen and swing passes the few times his number has been called to catch passes in his prep career.
Down the line, if Ohio State is facing a short-yardage situation on third down, you’d think this is the type of player the Buckeyes would love to hand the ball off to. Considering Tony Alford usually prefers to rotate in multiple running backs over the course of a game, Fletcher could be complemented well by a faster, home-run hitting running back.
Fletcher had a nice junior season for American Heritage High School, in which he racked up 779 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns on an average of 7.1 yards per carry in just eight games. His sophomore season was even more impressive, though. In 2020, Fletcher ran for 1,411 rushing yards and found the end zone 11 times.
In The Class
Fletcher becomes the seventh member of Ohio State’s 2023 recruiting class and the first running back. Ohio State’s recruiting class is now sixth in 247Sports’ composite team rankings with Fletcher’s commitment. He becomes the second member of Ohio State’s 2023 class from Florida, joining South Florida Express teammate Cedrick Hawkins.
The Buckeyes have made recruiting Florida a priority in recent years, earning the commitments of Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Ryan Turner and Kye Stokes in the 2022 class.
Of course, OSU would love to see its Florida pipeline expand even further with more additions from the Sunshine State in 2023, primarily at wide receiver and running back. The Buckeyes’ top two wide receiver targets, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss (the high school teammate of Fletcher), both reside in Florida. So do their top remaining running back targets, Richard Young and Cedric Baxter Jr.
Ohio State hopes to take two running backs in the 2023 cycle for the first time in a recruiting class since 2021, where it landed both Evan Pryor and TreVeyon Henderson. Dallan Hayden was the lone running back the Buckeyes signed in 2022.
Fletcher’s commitment will not slow down OSU’s pursuit of Young and Baxter Jr., and really, it shouldn’t deter either of those players from considering the Buckeyes. Young just released his top seven Monday with the Buckeyes firmly entrenched on the list, and of the two prospects, Young seems to be OSU’s preference based on the time spent recruiting each player and raw ability. But the gap isn’t as big as it once appeared, and if Baxter Jr. wanted to join the Buckeyes, Alford would gladly take a running back class consisting of Fletcher and Baxter Jr.
