BYU’s running back room has a chance to look a whole lot sturdier in 2026, and Sione Moa sits right at the center of that conversation.
That matters because LJ Martin just put together a monster season. The junior back carried the ball 236 times for 1,343 yards and 12 touchdowns, a workload that made him one of the biggest reasons BYU’s offense hummed the way it did.
There’s no question Martin can handle a heavy load again, but there’s also no denying what that kind of punishment does over the course of a season. The Cougars need someone who can spell him, and they didn’t really have that for much of 2025.
Moa looks like the answer.
A 5-foot-10, 220-pound back from Timpview High School, Moa is only a sophomore this season, and his path back has been anything but ordinary. He missed most of last year because of a serious and unusual blood-flow issue in his leg, a situation that at one point seemed serious enough to threaten his career. Instead, he made it back onto the practice field this spring, worked fully, and now appears ready to go when fall camp opens in August.
The talent was already there before the setback. As a freshman, Moa ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns, and he earned most of his snaps late in the year as a surprise contributor. He was expected to be Martin’s top backup last season, and he handled that role well while dealing with a soft tissue injury until BYU’s win over East Carolina, which ended his season.
Now the expectation is simple: Moa should step back into that No. 2 role and do it with a clean bill of health. If he stays healthy, he gives BYU exactly what every good offense needs behind a featured back - reliable relief, real production, and a way to keep Martin fresh over the long haul.
There’s also a personality piece here that makes Moa stand out. He’s described as one of the more humble and sincere players on the roster, which gives his comeback and his role this fall a little extra weight as August unfolds.
In Other News...
BYU Suddenly Has A Freshman WR Fans Cant Ignore
With fall camp approaching, BYUs wide receiver room looks a lot different than it did not long ago, and that has created an opening for newcomers who can handle real responsibility fast. Freshman Jaron Pula is one of the names that keeps coming up. He arrived early as a highly rated recruit, and with key receivers gone, the Cougars are already treating him like a player who could matter sooner rather than later.
For BYU, the challenge is not just finding talent, but finding it in a hurry. Pula is expected to push for playing time right away, and the staff will need a handful of young receivers ready to absorb snaps as camp unfolds. His range of outcomes is still being sorted out, but the expectation around him is clear enough: he has a path to becoming a meaningful part of the rotation if he can translate his promise quickly. [Read more 🡒]
One BYU Big 12 Win Changed Everything For The Cougars
BYUs first run through the Big 12 has already produced a handful of wins that felt bigger than a single Saturday, the kind that change how a program is viewed by everyone else in the league. Jay Drews look back at the Cougars recent resume puts that into focus, with victories over ranked opponents like Kansas State, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Iowa State and Georgia Tech all helping build the case that BYU belongs in the conversation, not just on the schedule.
The debate now is less about whether the Cougars have arrived and more about which game did the most to make that clear. The 2024 Utah win stands out as the most obvious marker, while the Colorado bowl game and the 2025 road win at Iowa State each added their own weight to BYUs rise, giving the program different kinds of proof at different moments. What makes the discussion interesting is that the answer depends on what kind of legitimacy you value most, and BYU has given itself more than one candidate. [Read more 🡒]