BYU has two of its offensive leaders on the 2026 Maxwell Award watch list, with running back LJ Martin and quarterback Bear Bachmeier both earning spots among the nation’s most outstanding player candidates.
The Maxwell Football Club released a watch list of 81 players for the 90th edition of the award, and 15 of those selections came from the Big 12 Conference. BYU was one of only 16 schools to place at least two student-athletes on the list.
Martin, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior from El Paso, Texas, enters the season with plenty of hardware already in tow. He was the 2025 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, a first-team All-Big 12 running back and a Pro Football Network second-team All-America selection. He was also a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and earned All-Big 12 recognition from Pro Football Network, Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions.
His 2025 production backed up the accolades. Martin ran for 1,305 yards, which ranked No. 11 nationally, and averaged 100.38 rushing yards per game, good for 12th. He added 120 all-purpose yards per game, which ranked No. 13 nationally, and his 1,305 rushing yards stood as the seventh-most in a single season in school history.
Martin was also recently chosen as the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and picked as a preseason All-America by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
Bachmeier’s rise has been just as notable. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound sophomore from Murrieta, California, was named conference freshman of the week seven times in 12 weeks during the regular season. That run helped him claim the 2025 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Award and Big 12 Honorable Mention.
He was also in the mix for several national honors, including the Manning Award. Bachmeier was a semifinalist for both the Davey O'Brien Award and the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year, earned a spot on the Davey O'Brien Award's Great 8 list twice and was also a Manning Star of the week.
In his freshman season, Bachmeier completed 251 of 387 passes for 3,033 yards and 15 touchdowns against 7 interceptions. He finished with a 64.9 percent completion rate, averaged 216.6 passing yards per game and ranked second on the team in rushing with 147 carries for 527 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He was recently named Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12.
Together, Martin and Bachmeier served as offensive co-captains for a BYU team that finished No. 12 in the country, went 11-2 in 2025, reached the Big 12 Championship and received an invitation to the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
The Maxwell Award semifinalists will be announced Nov. 10, followed by the three finalists on Nov. 24.
The winner will be revealed during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 10.
The award has been presented annually since 1937 and is named for Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, a former standout at Swarthmore College who also became a respected sports writer and football official.
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