No. 8 BYU is heading into Friday’s matchup with Iowa State with a different look in the backfield, and the Cougars are leaning hard on a group that has already been forced to grow up fast.
The latest blow is the expected absence of LJ Martin, who ESPN reported will be out for at least a month, probably longer after suffering a lower leg injury against TCU last week. Martin had been rolling before the injury, piling up 344 yards on 44 carries and averaging 7.8 yards per rush. Losing him matters, and BYU knows it.
But this is not unfamiliar territory for the Cougars.
Back in early August, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick hinted that freshman Journee Tonga would matter at some point this season, even though few outside the program had heard much about him. At the time, that sounded like a long-range prediction. Now it looks a lot more like a preview.
Tonga’s path to this moment has been unusual. The 5-foot-8, 198-pound back from Lawndale, California arrived late because of issues with his high school transcripts, then worked his way into the offense. With Sione Moa out for the season after an injury in the opener against Utah Tech, Tonga and Preston Rex were pushed into bigger jobs sooner than expected.
Roderick said Tuesday the staff trusts what Tonga brings.
“I don’t want to make grandiose statements yet about (Tonga) as a player, because he’s only played a little bit, but we really believe in him,” Roderick said Tuesday. “He’s a good player.
He’s a good back, and he’s a good receiver, and he blocks (well). He’s a good all-around player.”
BYU has seen this kind of thing work before.
In 2012, after Michael Alisa broke his forearm against Hawaii, a 17-year-old Jamaal Williams stepped into the lead role and finished with 166 carries for 775 yards and 12 touchdowns. Williams later became BYU’s all-time leading rusher in 2016 before moving on to the NFL.
Then in 2020, injuries thinned the depth chart enough that Tyler Allgeier moved from linebacker to running back. He responded with 1,130 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 150 carries, then set the BYU single-season rushing record with 1,606 yards in 2021.
Tonga’s numbers so far are modest, but they point to why BYU is comfortable asking more of him. He has played in three games and has 19 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown.
Rex has 18 carries for 94 yards and two scores. Freshman Devaughn Eka has also flashed in limited work, running 12 times for 87 yards in blowout wins over Utah Tech and Colorado State.
The Cougars are also still without veteran Jovesa Damuni, who suffered a serious knee injury in spring camp and has not returned to full-time practice.
Head coach Kalani Sitake said Monday that the group behind Martin has closed the gap.
“We feel like we’ve narrowed the gap quite a bit from one to two to three (in the RBs room), and we have a committee of guys that can do it,” Sitake said Monday. “I think Preston Rex has done an amazing job, and Journee Tonga’s got in there and done some really good things, too. And we’re gonna see Devaughn Eka get in there and do some things.
“I don’t want to make grandiose statements yet about (Tonga) as a player, because he’s only played a little bit, but we really believe in him. He’s a good player.
He’s a good back, and he’s a good receiver, and he blocks (well). He’s a good all-around player.”
Sitake added that the program has more options than people might realize.
“That room is deep, man. It goes even deeper than that.
So we have guys that can play, and these guys can play at a lot of other places. They choose to be here,” Sitake continued.
“We talk about our depth, and we just got to trust it and let these guys do some of the stuff that LJ was able to do. This is their time.”
BYU got a reminder of what life without Martin can look like last October against Iowa State. Martin left that game in the first half with a shoulder injury and did not return, and quarterback Bear Bachmeier responded by throwing for 307 yards against the Cyclones. Before that day, Iowa State had gone 21 straight games without allowing a 300-yard passer.
Roderick said the opponent may be the same, but the circumstances are not.
“Same school (on Friday), but totally different team, different coaches,” Roderick said. “But to that point, yeah, we just shift gears a little bit.
We’re still gonna run the same offense. We’re gonna do the same things we always do.
But we have a lot of good players, and so we’ll find ways to get our best players the ball. I have a lot of confidence in this team even without LJ.”
Bachmeier is buying into Tonga, too.
“My first impression was, man, this guy’s got big calves,” Bachmeier said. “I actually played with his brother in youth football.
So, yeah, I love the Tongas. He’s a great player and a great young man as well.”
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