Sione Moa had every reason to savor a routine day at BYU’s practice field Tuesday.
He was smiling, joking and moving like himself again after a year that nearly took football away from him entirely. For the 5-foot-10, 220-pound redshirt sophomore, the simple ability to be back in camp carries a different kind of weight now.
“Honestly, just to play football,” Moa said. “I almost had it taken away from me last year.
So I'm grateful every day just to play the sport. I hope I can play this sport for as long as I can.”
A year ago, Moa looked like a breakout candidate in a BYU backfield that also featured LJ Martin. Martin’s 2025 season became the headline, as he rolled to 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games and earned Big 12 offensive player of the year honors. Moa was supposed to be the perfect partner - the back who could run, catch, block and handle special teams work, the kind of complementary piece every offense wants.
He even had a playful way of describing the pairing.
“He's my best friend in the backfield, like Spongebob and Patrick,” Moa said. “We're just one and two.”
Instead, Moa appeared in only four games in 2025 and finished with 92 yards and a touchdown. He had back-to-back outings with a season-high seven carries in wins over Stanford and East Carolina, and it was in the game against the Pirates that everything changed.
Moa took a hit to his quadriceps and went to the medical tent. By the time he was on the plane home and into the early hours of the next morning, the swelling and bleeding had escalated into something far more serious. He told doctors at Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital it was “the worst I've ever felt in my life.”
When Dr. Dain Allred examined him early Sunday morning, Moa was in severe pain. His thigh was swollen and tight, and he had already spent the four-hour flight home hurting, then driven home in pain and struggled to sleep before meeting with BYU athletic trainers the next morning.
Allred diagnosed compartment syndrome of the thigh, a dangerous lower-extremity condition created by excessive pressure that can reduce blood flow and lead to nerve damage, limb dysfunction and even amputation if it is not treated quickly.
Allred rushed Moa into surgery and performed a fasciotomy, cutting the connective tissue around the muscle to relieve the pressure. Kalani Sitake described the operation as “emergency,” though not season-ending at the time. The procedure can bring immediate relief and restore blood flow before further damage is done.
Moa dug into the diagnosis himself and quickly understood how serious it was. He needed fast treatment, and he got it.
Neither Allred nor Intermountain Health responded to a request for comment about Moa’s condition. But in a Facebook post last spring, Allred and the Utah Valley Hospital team described how severe the injury could have become.
“If it isn't treated, the pressure can cut off blood flow - which can cause muscle to die and lead to nerve injury,” the post read. “Long-term risk includes limb dysfunction or amputation. This can be a career-ending injury for an athlete.”
Intermountain Health is a corporate sponsor of BYU Athletics and the university’s “official medical provider.” Allred, who also operated on Real Salt Lake midfielder Emeka Eneli for a minor knee surgery in the spring, has worked with plenty of high-profile athletes, and he praised Moa’s response during recovery.
“Due to Sione's toughness and determination,” he said, “he's regained his strength and speed and we're excited to see him this fall with the Cougars.”
Moa returned for one more game last season, carrying once for two yards and catching a short pass against Texas Tech in a 34-7 loss in the Big 12 championship game. Because he played in only four games, he was able to use his redshirt, and he will return this fall as a third-year sophomore with three seasons of eligibility. He is from Victorville, California, and finished high school at nearby Timpview High.
Now, he says he is ready.
“I feel great, honestly,” Moa said. “It's been a long road to recovery, but I think we have the best training room and sports science people in the nation.
I've been able to get back from my injury, basically 100 percent now. I'm ready to go.”
The scare changed how he sees the game, and the season opener Sept. 9 against Utah Tech has a simple priority at the top of his list: stay healthy.
“But after that,” he added. “I just hope I can contribute whenever I'm on the field, whether it's out of the backfield.
But the thing I want to work on the most is my pass pro, and being that sixth O-lineman. The quarterback makes the most money, and we've got to protect him.
“That's my No. 1 goal coming into the Utah Tech game, to show coaches that I can do all three: run the ball, catch the ball, and also protect.”
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