BYU will be without its top offensive skill player in Saturday’s Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Cougars running back and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin will be unavailable against Georgia Tech, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said in Tuesday’s pre-bowl media availability in Orlando.
According to Sitake, Martin recently underwent surgery, and given the possibility of him declaring for the NFL draft, it made the most sense to have the procedure when he did in order to recover more quickly for whatever his future plans entail, even if it came at the expense of playing in a bowl game.
“I think everybody kind of knows that there was a small window for him to get this surgery done,” Sitake said.
“His decision is going to be whether he comes back and plays his senior year, or whether he goes to the NFL. So, with that in mind, there’s a small window where he could have the surgery done now, or if he had to wait, then it would prolong it too long, where it wouldn’t be beneficial for him either way.”
Martin exited BYU’s 41-27 win over Iowa State on Oct. 25 early with an apparent shoulder injury but did not miss any other games until now.
The bruising junior ran for a Big 12-best 1,305 yards this past season along with 12 touchdowns at an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
In 33 career games over the past three campaigns, Martin has racked up 2,939 yards of total offense with 26 scores.
Last year in the Alamo Bowl against Colorado, Martin earned Offensive MVP honors for his two-touchdown, 121-yard effort.
But while he won’t be available on the field this weekend, Sitake said Martin has still been around the program and won’t be completely absent from the bowl festivities.
“He’s been with us the entire time in the (pre-bowl) practices. He’s recovering at home right now, but then he’ll be back out here to watch these guys and cheer on his brothers on Saturday,” Sitake said.
With Martin sidelined, the Cougars will turn to reserve running backs Preston Rex, Jovesa Damuni, Enoch Nawahine, Charlie Miska and others to carry the rushing load against No. 22-ranked Georgia Tech.
Sione Moa, who missed the majority of the season due to injury but returned for the Big 12 championship game earlier this month, was not listed on the team’s Tuesday depth chart.
Outside of Martin, however, BYU’s remaining backs only logged 72 total carries in 2025, as quarterback Bear Bachmeier and wide receiver Parker Kingston ranked second and third, respectively, behind Martin on the team rushing attempts leaderboard.
“We’re going to the rely on depth of the running back room, but for the most part, we should have a lot of guys,” Sitake said.
BYU and Georgia Tech will face off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT in Orlando. The game will be televised on ABC.
