Mario Cristobal shares what Damien Martinez adds to Miami's running back room

One of the most impactful transfers at the running back position this offseason was former Oregon State running back Damien Martinez deciding to take his talents to Coral Gables and join Miami. One of several players transfer to The U this offseason to help bolster up Mario Cristobal‘s roster in a major way.

Martinez inserts himself into Miami’s backfield fresh off of the best season of his college career, rushing for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns last year for the Beavers. And at ACC Media Days, Cristobal spoke about his skillset and what he adds to the Hurricanes’ backfield.

“Big, strong, powerful guy that can flat out go,” Cristobal said Wednesday describing his new rusher. “If you’ve got a chance, watch his film out there when he was at Oregon State and whether it be wide zone, tight zone, duo, pin and pull. He does it all protection wise, screen game, just a big, physical guy. First contact for him is usually contact plus two (yards). He churns his legs through contact, he finds a way to get extra yards.”

Martinez was the Pac-12’s third-leading rusher last season and a First-Team All-Conference selection, standing a 6-feet tall and weighing 237 pounds as a rusher that’s tough to tackle. Joining a Miami running back group that Cristobal thinks already has some firepower.

“Again, that running back room is really good right now, right?” Cristobal asked. “Ajay Allen is back healthy, Mark Fletcher is really close to being completely healthy, Chris Johnson had a great spring. Jordan Lyle, hard to find a better freshman in the country than him. You’ve got a lot of good pieces and that’s the way it should look.”

Having a veteran player transfer to a team at your own respective position isn’t always ideal for players. But Cristobal believes that each of his backs brings something different to the table along with Martinez. That versatility gives the Hurricanes’ running game some multiplicity and the potential for all of their backs to show off their abilities.

“Well the way we are run the ball, you need bell cows. You can’t have one, one’s not gonna be enough. We pound it up in there and they’re also different. Mark is a big powerful guy that can run, Damien is a big powerful guy that can run, Chris has got got blinding speed right? Jordan is a combination of those guys, AJ’s a combination those guys,” Cristobal explained.

“They’re are all very different so you can throw your fastball, your slider, your curveball. Is there competition? Can it get uncomfortable at times? Welcome to football.”

Only Pittsburgh ran the ball less times than Miami in the ACC last season, and with a stable of backs and new dual-theat quarterback Cam Ward, it will be fascinating to see how the Canes offense looks this upcoming season.