Wrist surgery will sideline BYU running back Aidan Robbins during spring practice, so the Cougars won’t see him carry the ball until fall camp. However, linebackers coach Justin Ena has already come face to face with the UNLV transfer and he believes BYU fans are in for a treat.
“You do not want to let him get his momentum going because he is so strong,” Ena told the “Y’s Guys” earlier this week. “He ran the ball so well against us. We thought we could get in front of him and slow him down, but we couldn’t do it.”
Ena coached San Diego State’s defensive line last season and watched Robbins run 21 times for 115 yards, including scampers of 14, 13, 19 and 22 yards. In the game prior to UNLV, the Aztecs’ defense held Fresno State to minus-three yards rushing.
“We were trying to get as many gains and stunts in front of him to make sure he cuts lateral, but when he wouldn’t, it would be downhill,” Ena said. “It would take two or three guys to bring him down because he is so strong.”
Robbins is 6-foot-3 and weighs 230 pounds. His 1,011 rushing yards in 2022 ranked third best in the Mountain West Conference. Following the San Diego State game, Robbins rushed 26 times for 146 yards against Fresno State, which included a 66-yard touchdown.
Ena said the big back, who has two years of eligibility remaining, poses a significant challenge on short yardage situations, an area where BYU has struggled since the departure of Tyler Allgeier in 2021.
“With a big back getting downhill steam, one or two guys aren’t going to bring him down, at least for that one yard,” Ena said. “It’s going to be steam and rolling over the top. You might get a shot at him, but he’s too big and strong to get that yard.”
Robbins had wrist surgery on Jan. 24. He remains in a cast and won’t take the field in a combat situation until August when he’ll be joined by four-star recruit LJ Martin, who rushed for 2,737 yards last season at Canutillo High in El Paso, Texas.
Happy to be home
Ena’s return to Provo as a coach capped an employment tour that included stops at Southern Utah, Weber State, Utah, Utah State and San Diego State. While on staff as the Utes linebackers coach (2015-2018), he went 4-0 against his alma mater, but they were bittersweet victories.
Utah outlasted BYU 19-13 in Provo in 2017.
“The ROC would be running in two hours before the game and fill the south end zone and you are like, ‘This place is special,’” Ena said. “It’s the loudest place I ever coached at — bar none. Rice-Eccles Stadium doesn’t come close to what Edwards Stadium is. I think it rivals Oregon.”
The Utes held BYU to a meager 233 yards of offense and intercepted Tanner Mangum three times, but for the former Cougar, who had nine tackles and a forced fumble in Edwards’ final game at Utah in 2000, there was a longing to get back into a blue shirt.
“When you go down there, you can’t hear anything, and you can feel the spirit of the crowd. They are so into it. You can’t rival it, especially since I’m a BYU alum and I’m coaching for the wrong team and I’m like, ‘All right, I just have to go with it,’” he said. “But it is very special to come back home. When you go to BYU and you are coached by LaVell Edwards, it’s a special lineage and tradition that you have to carry on. You keep on carrying that brotherhood. It’s special.”
When the Cougars take the field Sept. 2 against Sam Houston, it will mark the end of Ena’s 22-year journey from his time as a BYU player to his return as a coach. The smile on his face will be proof enough that some things are worth waiting for.
Dave McCann is a contributor to the Deseret News and is the studio host for “BYU Sports Nation Game Day,” “The Post Game Show,” “After Further Review,” and play-by-play announcer for BYUtv. He is also co-host of “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com.
