BYU’s first availability report for Saturday’s top-10 showdown at Utah delivered the headline everyone was watching for: LJ Martin is not ruled out.
The running back, who has been sidelined since the October 3 injury against TCU, moved from “OUT” to “DOUBTFUL” ahead of the No. 9 Cougars’ trip to face No.
3 Utah. Under the Big 12’s reporting system, that puts him in the “unlikely to play” range, with a 25% chance of suiting up.
Martin has been practicing this week as he continues to recover from the lower-body injury he suffered early in the win at TCU. The league’s track record on these reports doesn’t exactly inspire optimism, either.
This season, only two Big 12 players have gone from an opening “Doubtful” designation to “Available” by week’s end, and both were Colorado players in the September 26 game at Baylor. A few others have at least climbed from “Doubtful” to “Game-time decision.”
BYU also listed starting cornerback Evan Johnson and tight end Roger Saleapaga as doubtful. Saleapaga was hurt on a first-down catch late in the fourth quarter of last week’s win over Arizona State, while Johnson is still working back from the lower-body injury he picked up in the October 24 loss at UCF.
The Cougars’ “OUT” group includes three familiar names: Jonathan Kabeya, Pierson Watson and Seth Shigg. Defensive end Vincent Tautua was added to that list as well. He saw his first game action last week in Week 3 at Colorado State, but now shows up as out for this one.
There is some good news for BYU, too. Running back Preston Rex is not listed on the report and is expected to be available against Utah.
Kickoff specialist Brody Laga is also listed as probable after being out since a bye-week injury in September. He went through pregame warmups last week but did not play.
The rest of the report leaves a few more names in the middle ground. Safety Joseph Douglas, defensive end Kendal Wall and defensive end Siosefa Brown are all questionable.
BYU and Utah are set for Saturday, November 7, 2026, with kickoff at 10 a.m. MST. The game will be on KSL NewsRadio, 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.
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Lukic has already built a strong rsum for a young player, starring for a club in Spain while also representing Serbia on the international stage. He helped lead Serbias U17 team to a silver medal at the FIBA U17 World Cup and was named MVP at the NBA/FIBA Basketball Without Borders event, which helps explain why so many programs are now making room for him on their calendars. [Read more 🡒]