PROVO - BYU heads into Friday night’s home matchup with Iowa State carrying more uncertainty than usual, and it starts with the health of two of its most important defenders and its top offensive weapon.
Head coach Kalani Sitake said Monday that running back LJ Martin and linebacker Isaiah Glasker are both “doubtful” after leaving early in Saturday’s win over TCU. Martin injured his right ankle, while Glasker also went down with a lower-body injury.
"I'm still evaluating yesterday and today, and I'll probably get more information," Sitake said. "Right now, it looks doubtful for both of them."
Martin’s absence would be a major blow for the Cougars. He has been BYU’s leading offensive threat the past couple of seasons and earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors last season. Through four games this year, he has rushed for 344 yards and three touchdowns.
There was slightly better news on the injury front with slot cornerback Cannon DeVries. He also exited Saturday’s game, but Sitake said his status is “probable.”
"We'll see how it looks," he said. "He couldn't go back into the game, but we would anticipate seeing him this weekend."
The challenge waiting for BYU is a dangerous Iowa State team that arrives after a 45-42 win over West Virginia and a strong showing the week before against Utah, when the Cyclones stayed in the fight into the fourth quarter.
"Jimmy Rogers is a really good coach," Sitake said. "I've been really impressed with him as a coach, with his career as a coach and as a head coach. Seeing the things that he's been able to implement in a short amount of time there in Ames."
Iowa State’s biggest headache for BYU figures to be running back Aiden Flora, who just picked up Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors after a huge performance against the Mountaineers. Flora piled up 212 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, then added two catches for 48 yards and two more scores. On the season, he has 594 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
"Jimmy's done a great job putting him in a position where they can utilize his speed," Sitake said. "He's really fast, and he's got great vision, and we'll have to be ready for that. It's going to take all 11 guys on defense doing their job to try to keep Iowa State from having a lot of success on the offensive side."
If Martin and Sione Moa are unavailable, BYU will need to lean on depth in the backfield, with Bear Bachmeier helping carry the load. Sitake said the Cougars feel better about the distance between their top backs than they did earlier in the year.
"It's not ideal going into the season or the games with possibly having your first and second running back be out, but we feel like we've narrowed the gap quite a bit from one to two to three, and we have a committee of guys that can do it," Sitake said.
Bachmeier led BYU with 15 carries after Martin left against TCU. Preston Rex added eight carries for 21 yards, while Journee Tonga finished with seven carries for 28 yards. Legend Glasker also had some carries, though Devaughn Eka did not get a touch.
"I think Preston Rex has done an amazing job, and Journee Tonga's got in there and done some really good things too," Sitake said. "We're going to have to see Devaughn Eka get in there and do some things, but that room is deep."
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