This article was first published in the Cougar Insiders newsletter Tuesday. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each week.
Folks say championships and success on the football field are built from an offseason filled with wins.
These wins include conditioning, the entire squad being present every day, staying healthy, avoiding injuries, defections and suspensions, and adding the right staff and transfers. It also includes how impactful player-run practices are.
You could say BYU has dealt with all of these heading into late June. With Parker Kingston’s suspension over legal issues, star safety Faletau Satuala suffering a foot injury and Jay Hill’s departure causing the reorganization of the defensive staff, this has been a busy offseason. The Cougars have also welcomed in key transfers at tight end to stabilize a position that lost NFL draftee Carsen Ryan.
This is the work of summer and we’re in the thick of it.
Question of the week
LJ Martin has had plenty of time to heal from his shoulder surgery and as the Big 12’s leading rusher in 2025, his return for the Cougars is big. How big is it and how important will it be for him to stay healthy and active this season?
Jay Drew: Every time an offensive player is taken out of the equation — the latest being junior wide receiver Cody Hagen — there’s seemingly more pressure on LJ Martin to deliver another outstanding season for BYU.
The onus to keep the BYU offense humming will clearly be on Martin in 2026, along with quarterback Bear Bachmeier and the two stud tight ends the Cougars brought in through the transfer portal — Roger Saleapaga of Oregon and Walker Lyons of USC.
Obviously, Martin must get healthy, and stay healthy, to have another big year. I personally know that a lot of time and energy has been spent this offseason, by both Martin and BYU’s strength and conditioning staff, to ensure that happens. If the senior from El Paso, Texas, does not play in every game, the Cougars’ chances of making it back to the Big 12 championship game go down significantly. That’s not to say that backup Sione Moa (who is also coming back from an injury) won’t be up to the task, but Martin is a cut above.
Also, BYU is really thin behind Moa, with converted safety Preston Rex probably RB3 at this point.
Of course, injuries are flukish things and can happen at any time, so nothing can be taken for granted. Remember when tight end Matt Bushman suffered a season-ending injury in practice a few days before the 2020 opener at Navy?
Sure, certain steps can be taken to avoid injuries, but in the end some always seem to happen. For BYU, as long as nothing bad happens to Martin, the offense should be as good as last year, maybe better with Bear Bachmeier having a year under his belt.
Dick Harmon: If LJ Martin stays healthy, he is capable of having the same kind of career as Jamaal Williams and Tyler Allgeier. He is that big of a cog in Aaron Roderick’s offense.
His presence changes the game for Roderick and enables him a certain level of play-calling. Martin, the Big 12’s leading rusher, averages about 5 yards per carry and with him in the backfield, blocking, carrying the ball, or going out for passes, defenses are forced to respect him. This is very evident in the red zone and at the goal line when the Cougars are trying to score. Defenses have to commit players to account for him.
Of course, all defenses do this — key in on running backs every play, but when you have an elite playmaker, it becomes an absolute. This opens up things for BYU’s tight ends, receivers and the jet sweep Roderick likes to use to make defenses cover sideline to sideline horizontally.
Martin is a smart player. He reads blocks at an elite level and he has tremendous vision for hitting holes. He is strong and he has an explosion to take it to the house on any given play.
I wouldn’t want to discount any of his backups, including Sione Moa. We saw BYU defeat a good Georgia Tech team in a bowl game without Martin. Having Bear Bachmeier as a pass and run threat is also a unique aspect to this offense, and Bachmeier has proven to be a beast for defenses, as his presence has to be accounted for with a spy.
This is set to be a fun season to watch with Martin and the weapons Roderick has at his disposal. It makes a huge difference if they stay healthy. BYU has won 13 consecutive games when the offense has gained 100 or more yards on the ground. That’s how big the run game is for Roderick.
Cougar tales
Kevin Young says his staff understands fan anxiety about getting a big man in this piece by Dave McCann. He’s working on it. He’s working on it.
In the season’s final sport championship, BYU men and women found national champs at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, this past week. The men finished in a tie for 21st place with 12 points. The women finished 12th with 22 points, the best since 2022.
From the archives
From X verse
Extra points
- What Richie says before NBA draft (Deseret News)
- Will anyone catch LJ Martin? (Deseret News)
- BYU releases Big 12 schedule (Daily Herald)
Fanalysts
Comments from Deseret News readers:
What do you do when you have two top caliber players and both clearly have a preferred team to play for? Peterson wants to be in Washington, D.C., and Dybantsa would prefer to be in Utah. That preference means something and should be taken into account.
The hype of being the No. 1 pick will wear off soon enough and playing where you are most comfortable will be the more important issue. — Back Talk
Well, with the NCAA taking no action, at least the Big 12 has a spine. I don’t want Sorsby’s life ruined, but he needs to face the consequences of thousands of sports bets, including on his own team. This will also help set an example for new athletes coming up to the NCAA level. I am disappointed the NCAA hasn’t challenged the retired Texas judge’s ruling. I can’t imagine it would stand (except in Texas). — Kralon
Up Next
Aug. 4 | TBA | Football fall practice | Provo