True freshman Girard Pringle Jr. ran 17 times for 116 yards on Saturday in his first start. Pringle gave Miami breakaway speed as he had four carries of at least 12 yards. Miami has had to reshuffle its carries with leading rusher Mark Fletcher Jr out for the last three games.
Pringle Jr. had seven carries for 55 yards and one touchdown against Syracuse last week. The performance by Pringle Jr. against the Orange earned him the start against North Carolina State. Pringle showed his versatility by adding two receptions for 32 yards.
On the opening Miami drive that concluded with a 31-yard Carter Davis field goal, Pringle Jr. had four carries for 12 yards and one reception for 19 on an 11-play, 77-yard drive to put the Hurricanes ahead 3-0.
Pringle Jr. showed the ability to carry the Miami offense in the third quarter. On the second Miami drive of the third quarter, Pringle Jr. had five carries for 57 yards. That drive culminated with a 38-yard field goal to extend the Miami lead to 34-0.
Pringle Jr. had two carries for 17 yards in the fourth quarter before Mario Cristobal and Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson put in reserve Chris Wheatley-Humphrey to finish the game. Wheatley-Humphrey had seven carries for 45 yards against North Carolina State on Saturday.
CharMar Brown and Pringle Jr. shared the carries for most of the game on Saturday versus North Carolina State. Brown finished with eight carries for 45 yards and a TD and one reception for three yards. With Fletcher Jr. out, Brown gives Miami a power back.
Pringle Jr. has passed Jordan Lyle, who has appeared to fall out of favor in the last three games with Dawson after returning from injury in October. Lyle had 15 carries for 57 yards and a TD in October, but does not have a carry in November.
Miami plays at Virginia Tech next week. The Hokies are 13th in the ACC allowing 146.89 rushing yards per game. Pittsburgh entered play on Saturday first in the ACC, allowing 80.89 rushing YPG. Notre Dame ran for 175 yards and two TDs on Saturday in a 37-15 win over Pittsburgh. Miami finishes the season at Pittsburgh on November 29.