LJ Martin is a real BYU bell cow, the time period for a working again who can maintain an intense variety of carries — and the hits that include them — week after week.
The most important bell cow in Cougar soccer historical past is Atlanta Falcons working again Tyler Allgeier, who carried the soccer into hazard an unthinkable, school-record 276 occasions in 2021.
It was a preposterous workload. Handoff after handoff, he compiled almost 9% extra carries than the earlier college document.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick leans so closely on Martin, the Massive 12 Offensive Participant of the 12 months, that the junior is on tempo to hold the ball extra occasions in a single season than everybody in class historical past however Allgeier.
Martin has already carried the ball 217 occasions heading into Saturday’s Massive 12 championship recreation towards Texas Tech. That’s adequate for a tie for the Tenth-most carries in a BYU season, and he has a minimum of two extra video games to play.
How closely is Roderick leaning on Martin? Listed here are 3 ways to have a look at the junior’s rugged load:
- BYU’s offense has run 812 performs, and Bear Bachmeier has handed the ball to Martin on 27% of them.
- Add in Martin’s catches, and he’s had the ball on 30% of BYU’s offensive snaps.
- BYU runners and receivers have 681 touches this season. Consider it as all offensive performs minus incomplete passes. Martin has 36% of all of BYU’s touches.
That may be a bell cow. Martin has taken as a lot of a beating as any BYU rusher ever.
What’s extra, Martin’s touches are much more bruising than the 210 carries Curtis Brown had for BYU in 2005.
Brown says so himself.
“Taking a look at the kind of offense that I used to be part of in comparison with the one LJ is in, his are very bodily runs,” he stated. “There’s no aspect of deception in any respect.”
Brown stated BYU frequently used break up backs when he was taking part in, and defenses didn’t know whether or not he or Fahu Tahi or Manase Tonga or Fui Vakapuna would get the handoff.
Martin strains up in single-back formations. Burly Massive 12 defenders know what’s coming.
“It’s brawn on brawn,” Brown stated.
The competitors can also be totally different, he stated. Twenty years in the past, BYU performed within the Mountain West Convention. The Massive 12 is a bruising, ground-and-pound Energy 4 convention, Brown stated.
“I performed at 205 kilos soaking moist,” he stated, whereas Martin is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound bulldozer.
Brown marvels at that dimension and Martin’s means to remain on the sphere regardless of all of the hits he’s taking, together with on these punishing performs when his offensive linemen slam right into a pile and push him ahead till everybody collapses on him.
“Sturdiness is the secret,” Brown stated. “LJ is a workhorse. It’s unbelievable.”
The most important show of that got here two weeks in the past in Cincinnati, when Martin carried the ball 32 occasions for 222 yards.
“The sport plan was to not give him 32 carries,” Roderick stated. “I believed we’d give him 20 carries … It was fairly apparent early on that he was sizzling, he was on one. Our O line was blocking for him and someplace within the third quarter it simply felt like the best factor to do was to maintain feeding him till the ultimate whistle.”
Roderick coached Allgeier and different nice backs.
“It was top-of-the-line video games I’ve ever seen a working again play,” Roderick stated on BYUtv’s “Coordinators Nook.”
Martin stated it was enjoyable to get so many touches. He additionally had three catches.
“I used to be just a bit bit sore from all of the carries,” he advised KSL Sports activities. He stated he loves taking part in powerful, bodily soccer.
Martin now ranks thirteenth within the nation in carries this 12 months. He’s twelfth in dashing yards with 1,238 (seventh finest in BYU historical past).
He’s already in rarified air on BYU’s record of single-season workload leaders, tied with Jamaal Williams for the Tenth-most carries in a single BYU season.
Two extra video games are assured, so he’ll climb the record.
He averages 18 carries per recreation. If Roderick feeds him that many occasions once more on Saturday and within the subsequent Faculty Soccer Playoff recreation or bowl recreation, Martin will rack up 253 carries for the season.
That will surpass a bunch of Cougar legends — Brian McKenzie, Lakei Heimuli, Pete Van Valkenburg, Taysom Hill and Ronney Jenkins.
It might even move his working backs coach, Harvey Unga.
Everybody however Allgeier.
Brown praises Martin’s arduous work in conditioning and weight lifting, however he additionally stated Unga, deserves a variety of credit score.
Brown hosted Unga on his BYU recruiting go to. The assistant coach talks frequently with Brown, 41, a pharmaceutical gross sales rep in Clovis, California.
Brown stated Unga noticed one thing particular in Martin.
“Harvey has a particular eye,” Brown stated.
It simply so occurs that Martin’s imaginative and prescient is one other a part of his means to be a giant workhorse within the Cougar offense.
He frequently approaches the road of scrimmage with the ball like he’s selecting out simply the best gap. Brown stated it’s a signal of endurance and of belief in his offensive linemen.
“NFL coaches at all times talked about, ‘gradual to, quick via,’” stated Brown, who performed in 4 preseason video games with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2007. “You’re gradual as you discover the outlet, however when it’s there, it’s a must to blast via it instantly.”
Martin’s energy, sturdiness, imaginative and prescient and endurance are a giant a part of the explanation BYU ranks twenty second within the nation in scoring (34 factors per recreation) and twenty third within the nation in dashing offense (194.5 yards per recreation).
The ball-control offense allows BYU to maintain the ball away from opponents. The Cougars are tied for ninth within the nation in time of possession at 33:13.
“You don’t need to waste him,” Roderick stated. “You need to squeeze each drop we are able to out of him.”
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