Mark Fletcher Jr. caught red-handed throwing punch at Indiana player after CFP loss

Let's hope one bad moment doesn't define an amazing season for Mark Fletcher. The Hurricanes top running back was seen throwing a punch at Indiana defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker. Fletcher looked like he connected on the first punch and Tucker said something to him and Fletcher tried to hit him again while coaches held him back.

It was a dark moment in an otherwise breakout run of games for Fletcher, who rushed for 507 yards in the four games and had 112 yards and two touchdowns in the CFP Championship Game, a 27-21 loss to the Hoosiers at Hard Rock Stadium.

Mark Fletcher Jr. throws a punch at Indiana play after CFP Final

Fletcher has been one of the heroes of the Hurricanes over this playoff run and is a great story in general. He dedicated this season to his father, Mark Sr. a.k.a. "Big Mark", who died at the age of 53 in October 2024. Fletcher's mom, Linda, has made every one of her son's games even though she refuses to fly.

She drove all the way to Arizona less than two weeks ago to see her son play against Ole Miss and drove to Berkeley last season to watch the Hurricanes play Cal. 

Fletcher was a big part of Miami's great second-half effort on Monday night. His 57-yard touchdown run got the Hurricanes on the board and seemed to settle the team down after an uninspiring first half left them with a 10-0 deficit. He added a second touchdown run at the start of the fourth quarter to pull Miami to 17-14. 

And, ironically enough, when the game was over, Fletcher was one of the first players to meet Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza to congratulate and embrace him, a beautiful moment between two players that have competed in the same circles around South Florida for years. 

Again, it's hard to know what was said and what kind of emotions were running at that moment. Fletcher has always handled himself with class and is considered one of the leaders of Mario Cristobal's team. Hopefully, this one incident won't be the thing people remember from Fletcher after his great season.