Provo • With a sigh of relief, LJ Martin punched his chest and raised a finger to the evening sky.
After being limited in fall practices due to an undisclosed shoulder injury, the sophomore running back returned to BYU’s lineup on Saturday night. Martin scored his first touchdown of the season on a 7-yard reception from BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff in the third quarter, which put the Cougars up 31-13 with 11:19 remaining in the period.
After doing his simple celebration, Martin upped the ante by sharing chest and shoulder bumps with his BYU teammates. It was a stamp of approval that he’s indeed healthy and ready to play, despite a few reports circulating through fall camp suggesting otherwise.
“When it happened it was kind of disappointing and stuff like that,” Martin said of his shoulder injury postgame. “But just working with the strength guys in there … they got me right. I always had belief. They told me I’d be back at a certain time, and sure enough, they were right. (They told me I’d be) back for game one.”
Martin ended the game with 13 carries, 67 rushing yards and two total touchdowns on Thursday, helping BYU (1-0) to a 41-13 win over Southern Illinois (0-1). The El Paso, Texas, native is expected to be a big part of the Cougars offense this season after finishing with 518 rushing yards and four touchdowns in 2023.
He shared carries with Hinckley Ropati on Thursday night. When one player was tired, another came in, which was BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s gameplan heading into the week. Ropati finished with 13 carries, 57 yards and one touchdown vs. the Salukis.
“I feel like we did well,” Martin said. “We were able to get some big runs going, but I feel like there is stuff we could definitely clean up. We’ll go back to that tomorrow. We’ll start working all day and get ready for the next game.”
With both a rushing and receiving touchdown, the sophomore running back showed a glimpse of his versatility in the Cougars offense, a facet he wants to tap into more as the season rolls on. He had 11 receptions, 45 receiving yards and one score in the passing game a season ago.
“He’s good all around,” senior cornerback Jakob Robinson said. " He can catch the ball, he can juke, he can truck you, he just runs hard. I haven’t had the chance to tackle him, but I really want to practice.”
Alongside the questions about his health, the Cougars had their own concerns heading into this season. They ended 2023 on a five-game losing streak in conference play finishing 11th in the Big 12. BYU’s run game struggled for most of the season, as well, ending 2023 dead last in the conference, averaging 104.3 rushing yards per game and an abysmal 3.5 yards per carry.
While the Cougars have a newfound confidence, the jury is still out on their rushing offense and whether or not Martin can stay healthy all season.
One thing is for certain, BYU — and its doubters — will learn a lot when the Cougars take on SMU on Friday, Sept. 6 at 5:00 p.m. MT in Dallas next week. The Mustangs had the second-best rush defense in the AAC in 2023, allowing 121.9 run yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry.
Martin is ready to take on that challenge, hoping to ride the momentum he and the running back committee showed tonight.
“It felt good to go back out there and get a win,” Martin said, “to just kind of show people what we’re about. They were a good team.”