BYU will be without LJ Martin a little longer, but Cougars aren't sweating it. Here's why

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

PROVO — The 2024 BYU football campaign has seemingly performed a 180 after the first month of the season, going from a preseason projected 4.5-win total by most Las Vegas-area sportsbooks to an unbeaten start and No. 22 ranking by the Associated Press and Coaches poll.

The Cougars entered the national media poll Sunday for the first time since 2022 after a late-night 38-9 win over then-No. 13 Kansas State (the Wildcats fell to No. 23 by the AP).

But bad news emerged Monday morning in the form of the Cougars' depth chart leading up to Saturday's contest against Big 12 foe Baylor (10 a.m. MDT, FS1). Or was it?

LJ Martin wasn't listed on the team's two-deep depth chart, with Folau Ropati, Miles Davis, Sione I. Moa and Enoch Nawahine all being listed with the "or" designation as co-starters.

The sophomore tailback who has been out with an apparent lower-leg injury for two full games won't play until at least after the Cougars' bye week, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake confirmed Monday. The Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) are scheduled to face Arizona on Oct. 12.

"I think we're counting on him taking advantage of the extra time he can get, and getting back in time for the sixth game," Sitake said. "If you ask LJ and the rest of the guys, where you're able to go is not the question; it's if you're better than the guys at full strength.

"If you ask our running backs, they all want to play, but we've got to make the best decision; and if they have extra time for healing, then that's what we're going to do."

Martin led BYU on the ground a year ago, when he went for 518 yards and four touchdowns on 109 carries as a true freshman, and was set to be the team's RB1 after scoring two touchdowns in the season opener against FCS foe Southern Illinois.

An apparent ankle/leg injury halted his season since the middle of the second game against SMU, when redshirt senior Ropati also went down with an injury. But BYU's depth at the position has shown with Davis, Moa, Nawahine and freshman Pokaiaua Haunga all showing moments to keep the undefeated season alive through the first third of the season.

The latest was Moa, who rumbled for 76 yards on 15 carries in his first career start against the Wildcats, including a tackle-breaking 21-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that had the Isaiah Pacheco look-alike ice the Cougars' largest margin of victory over a top-15 opponent since a 26-6 win over then-No. 14 Arizona State in 1998.

Nawahine added 25 yards on five carries against Kansas State a week after he was a late scratch with minor injuries against Wyoming.

"We've been telling you guys that we have good running back (depth) and I wanted to show it off to you guys," Sitake said after the game. "Harvey (Unga) has done a good job with that entire room, and they are all capable. ... It's a deep and talented group. We want the other guys back (healthy), but we are going to be fine at the running back position."

Moa, for his part, seemed candidly surprised that he saw as much time as he did in his first career start. But the 5-foot-10, 215-pound returned missionary freshman from Timpview High just wanted to be the next in a recent line of top Cougar rushers.

"We have a lot of great running backs," he said. "Even with LJ out this game, Miles, Enoch and Pokaiaua have been running like crazy. I was pretty surprised that I got a lot of these reps."

Also at the running back spot, the Cougars boast former Ridgeline star Jovesa Damuni and Charles Miska, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound freshman from Virginia who was a late addition to the active roster after he was named scout team player of the week by the team following an 18-15 win over SMU.

"We're so hungry this season, especially after losing a couple of older guys last season," said Nawahine, a Utah State transfer who has been reunited with his former coach Gary Andersen in Provo. "We have a different mentality when we run the ball. That starts with the older guys in the room, like Folau and LJ, down to the younger guys like Pokai, Jovesa, and Charlie. We just have a mentality in our room to run hard and to play with physicality."

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Sean Walker

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KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter