CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Mark Fletcher Jr. can still remember the feeling of walking onto the Greentree Practice Fields for his first day of preseason camp as a freshman.

There was excitement, of course. But there were plenty of nerves, too.

That’s why on Tuesday – four years after that memorable day – Fletcher made it a point to try and connect with as many of Miami’s freshmen as he could when the Hurricanes returned to Greentree to kick off their first day of practice ahead of the 2026 season.

“My freshman year, I was out here real nervous. I remember that. So, it’s just so surreal,” said Fletcher, now one of Miami’s senior leaders. “I’m just so blessed and I know it’s a lot of freshmen’s first days, so I just did a lot of checking on them, making sure they were good. We’ve got so many great humans, so many great human beings around the building; so many great players. My job is [to] just continue to lead them and be there for them.”

The running back wasn’t the only Miami veteran hoping to help set the tone as a new season gets underway in Coral Gables.

Graduate student Mohamed Toure has been doing his best to teach Miami’s young linebackers the ins and outs of playing in defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s system.

And even though Darian Mensah has only been at Miami since January, the quarterback has already impressed coaches and teammates alike with his ability to connect with the playmakers around him.

That kind of leadership all across the field is going to be essential if the Hurricanes are to have the kind of season they believe they can have, especially given the expectations Miami faces this season.

And for their part, Fletcher, Toure, Mensah – along with several fellow veterans – have embraced their opportunities to be the voices making a difference in the locker room as the Hurricanes look to put together another deep playoff run this year after advancing to the College Football Championship Game last season.

“You don’t sense anything fake from them. I think there’s great residue of legacy from the previous team that this team took seriously, took to heart and implemented in their approach,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “They were really challenged by [football Director of Sports Performance] Ervin Young and his staff all summer, which in turn, guys like Mark Fletcher and Mo Toure challenged the group as well. That’s going to show up, you know? There’s no substitute for that.”

Over the course of the next four weeks, the Hurricanes will compete for spots on the depth chart, install their playbook and gain invaluable experience that will help prepare them for their Sept. 4 season opener at Stanford.

After that, there will be games against the likes of Florida A&M, Wake Forest, Central Michigan, Clemson, Florida State, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College.

But on Tuesday, there wasn’t much talk about any of that.

Instead, the focus was on the present – and getting better, growing, and learning.

“[It’s] a 1-0 mentality, 1-0 in everything we do, 1-0 in practice, 1-0 to go eat food, 1-0 to come up [and] watch film; 1-0 in everything,” Toure said. “Just taking it one day at a time and attacking every single thing you do because we can’t focus on tomorrow or the next day until we accomplish today.”

Added Fletcher, “Just staying where our feet are and just focusing on one day, one rep and going 1-0. Each thing that we do, we’re just trying to go 1-0. So, we’re worried about Day Two now. Day one is in the books – well, we’ve still got to go watch film – but we’re focused on Day Two now.”

“Very Thankful”

Tuesday’s practice marked the first one in the recently expanded Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility and when the session ended, Cristobal couldn’t help but express gratitude for the remodeled space, noting what a difference it will make for the Hurricanes moving forward.

“It’s really important because the weather is what it is in South Florida, right? And when you have this much space, this is functional space, there’s nothing better for a football team than actual functional space,” he said. “We were able to – the [defensive backs] could get their entire drops. They weren’t squatting on short routes. They weren’t constricted to minimizing some of the drill space. … The o-line and d-line had plenty of space to break up the different position groups and have more effective drills and have more range in their drills as well. So, very thankful to the administration and all the people that donated to make this thing possible. It’s a beautiful facility and the other parts of are being finalized as well. Really grateful and awesome to be out here today.”

Friendly foes

After competing against each other at rival high schools American Heritage and Cardinal Gibbons, Fletcher and defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr. now find themselves competing against each other on Greentree.

And Fletcher noted Tuesday there’s still plenty of friendly banter between the two former Broward County standouts.

“Me and Mo, we have conversations all the time about things we want to focus on this year. And me and [defensive lineman Justin] Scott as well. We relate a lot because we both lost our fathers and we just both want to be there for each other, supporting each other. But yeah, no running back wants to see that [defensive line]. So, I’m telling the o-line, ‘Bro, you get on them. Get them out of my way,’ …

“You’ve got to remember it. You’ve just got to remember those are the good days,” Fletcher said, of his high school matchups against Moten. “And I’m talking about it. [There] was a play when we played him, and I ran a stretch to the outside and Moten jumped on my ankle. I’ll never forget that day. My ankle was hurting so bad, so I definitely need to go mess with him again this.”