How running back Jordan Lyle can elevate his game in Year 2 with the Miami Hurricanes
Jordan Lyle knows he’s poised for a larger role with the Miami Hurricanes this season.
As a freshman, Lyle was Miami’s No. 3 running back, playing behind the one-two punch of Damien Martinez and Mark Fletcher.
But with Martinez off to the NFL draft and a couple of the Hurricanes’ depth players in Ajay Allen and Chris Johnson leaving via the transfer portal, Lyle is entrenched as Miami’s No. 2 back heading into his sophomore season.
“Everybody in the room,” Lyle said, “has high expectations for the season.”
Lyle, a former standout at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, showed in spurts what he can provide the Hurricanes. He ran for 400 yards and four touchdowns on just 54 carries as a freshman. His 7.41 yards per carry ranked seventh nationally among running backs who had at least 50 rushing attempts last season.
He had a pair of 100-yard games on the season against USF on Sept. 21 and Wake Forest on Nov. 23. In Miami’s win over USF, Lyle broke out for a 91-yard touchdown run — the longest rush from scrimmage in Hurricanes history.
Lyle said his biggest takeaway from his freshman season was “learning how to develop.” He wasn’t put in too many high pressure situations but was given the opportunity to get valuable game reps as his first season of college ball progressed.
“Basically, that just helped me understand the game,” Lyle said. “The speed was going so much faster when I got here. So that was the main adjustment I had to learn from coming from high school to football college.”
The game has slowed down and Lyle has a better sense of his role and what he needs to do to succeed. Lyle said the biggest area of his game that has improved is his pass protection.
Miami running backs coach Matt Merritt said Lyle has added about eight pounds of muscle and has “reshaped his body” as he prepares for a bigger role.
“He is a year older now,” Merritt said. “I don’t know how much bigger he will get, but our strength and conditioning coaches do a great job of making sure that as they put on size, they don’t lose their speed and quickness and everything else. I like where Jordan is at, but we will see where he is at over the next few months.”
Fletcher, who ran for 607 yards and nine touchdowns last season, is ready to see what he and Lyle — both Broward County natives who have a connection going back to their youth football days — can do as a top running back tandem this season.
“We just want to pick up where we left off last year,” Fletcher said.
And while Fletcher and Lyle figure to be the focal points, they know there are reinforcements behind them. Redshirt freshman Chris Wheatley-Humphrey and true freshman Girard Pringle Jr. are next in line and have the talent to contribute.
“We don’t just got me and Mark,” Lyle said. “It’s not just us. There’s a bunch of other guys ready to run too.”
Merritt said that “in an ideal world,” the Hurricanes would have at least five running backs they believe can contribute during the season.
“You are constantly evaluating the things you need and we have some other guys on the team that have the skill set to help out there as well,” Merritt said. “Depending on how the evaluation goes, we will see if we decide to add one at the end of the spring or not. You are always looking to upgrade and improve the depth of the room because of how violent the position is.”
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