Led by rising sophomore LJ Martin, what is the state of BYU's running back depth?

PROVO — With plenty of eyes on him, and a few questions directed his way, BYU rising sophomore LJ Martin stepped up to a microphone as BYU football finished out the first partial week of training camp to address the media.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound tailback had been the subject of plenty of rumors and speculation since spring ball, when Martin didn't fully participate due to a shoulder injury. But there he was on the first day of camp last Wednesday, dressed in workout attire and carrying his helmet after the media had been invited to attend the final half hour of practice.

The teenager from El Paso, Texas, who ran for a team-high 518 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games as a freshman, including five starts, has been expected to shoulder an even bigger load of the offense when the Cougars kick off their second season in the Big 12.

Is he up to the task?

"I'll be good," he said, then repeating as if for emphasis: "I'm good right now. I'll be good."

Martin had been the subject of several rumors and anonymous reports — mostly from unverifiable internet sources, but also a report from the Deseret News citing multiple sources — since he missed portions of practice with a shoulder injury in the spring.

He addressed the rumors on a local BYU podcast, affirming his health and readiness for the 2024 season, over the summer.

When asked about his status for the upcoming season during the first week of training camp, he was equally declarative.

"I've been participating in everything," he said. "Being out here with the guys, just out here competing, so it's been real fun just being out here in the first couple days of camp."

Martin acknowledged he expects to play in BYU's season opener Aug. 31 against FCS foe Southern Illinois. From there, the Cougars will move to nonconference tilts against one-time conference foes SMU and Wyoming before opening the Big 12 play Sept. 21 against Kansas State at home.

With an already intriguing quarterback competition between incumbent starter Jake Retzlaff and former BYU and South Florida signal caller Gerry Bohanon, it's understandable why one of the last things most BYU fans (and likely coaches) might want to hear is an injury to the presumed RB1 on campus.

Neither head coach Kalani Sitake or offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick have given an indication that Martin has been unavailable beyond ordinary recovery from spring, with Sitake even stating that the tailback was practicing after the Cougars' camp opener July 31 when questioned about availability.

"LJ looks like he's way more comfortable," Sitake said. "When he was a true freshman, he was getting used to everything: the locker room, college life, all of that. Now it's a night-and-day difference. He's a leader now, and he's helping Pokai (Haunga), Sione (Moa) and the others."

Sitake added that the coaches have been "rotating quite a bit" with the running backs, between Martin, redshirt senior Folau Ropati, speedster Miles Davis and freshman Pokaiaua Haunga from Timpview.

"I like the running back group right now," he added.

That last part may be good news if Martin isn't at 100% health for the start of the season as Sitake and Roderick try to build up the depth necessary to compete week-in and week-out in a power conference that includes Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Arizona and Utah, among others.

Ropati has returned to practice a year after missing all of the 2023 campaign with an ACL injury suffered in training camp, and the 5-foot-9, 220-pound athlete who is due to become a first-time father with his wife Taylin has already showed flashes of the running back who ran for a key 204 yards with 97 receiving since transferring from Cerritos College.

"He's been putting in the work every day; I've been following him around," Martin said. "I'm happy for him, to see him out there competing and stuff. It helps a lot, having that veteran presence with us. He knows how things go, how the offense is, and it helps all of us younger guys to have him out there with us."

Then there's Haunga, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound athletic receiver and defensive back who was the No. 6 overall prospect in the state of Utah who compiled 1,621 yards and 18 receiving touchdowns while helping Timpview reach the 5A state championship game two years ago.

Haunga has been impressive during the media's limited observation periods of camp thus far, but also in a more important way: to his teammates. He's even earned himself a tech-savvy nickname already.

"He's doing stuff, and he's like a glitch in the system," Martin said. "Sometimes the way he gets us is with a handstand; he's just crazy .... We've got to be careful with him. We don't want him getting hurt."

The hope, of course, is that BYU's depth at running back isn't tested early. But if it is, an expanded roster that includes former Utah State transfer Enoch Nawahine, former Ridgeline standout Jovesa Damuni and Moa, the 5-foot-10, 215-pound freshman from Timpview, has the confidence of the coaches.

"I really think we have depth at every position," Roderick said, "but it is time for us to go do it and that is pretty much what you are going to hear from me. We have to perform in games."

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