BYU RB LJ Martin Continues His Ascent Up the Cougars’ All-Time Rushing List

When BYU kicked off the 2026 season, LJ Martin was ninth all-time in total rushing yards by a BYU player with 2,541 yards. After three games, including two games in which Martin only played one half of football, he has already overtaken some of the best rushers in the history of the program

Through three games, Martin has rushed for 328 yards, bringing his career total 2,869 yards. Martin has climbed to sixth all-time in the BYU record books. Against Colorado State, Martin surpassed Taysom Hill and Lakei Heimuli.

Barring injury, of course, Martin is on track to overtake Tyler Allgeier and Jamal Willis in the next game or two. With 131 more yards, he would become just the fourth BYU running back to reach the 3,000-yard threshold.

What Would Martin Need to Do to Become the All-Time Leading Rusher?

Martin entered the season in position to, potentially, overtake Jamaal Williams as BYU's all-time leading rusher. After the Colorado State game, Martin is 1,032 yads away from surpassing Williams with nine regular season games to go. Martin could get there. However, playing only one half in two of the first three games hasn't helped his chances.

Once Martin gets into conference play and takes on a full workload, he could start closing the gap in a hurry. Martin would need to average 115 rushing yards per game the rest of the season to overtake Williams as BYU's all-time leading rusher. If Martin plays at least one postseason game for BYU, he would need to average 103 rushing yards per game to eclipse Williams' record that has stood for 10 years.

Player	Yards	Seasons
1. Jamaal Williams	3,901	2012-2016
2. Harvey Unga	3,455	2006-2009
3. Curtis Brown	3,221	2002,2004-2006
4. Jamal Willis	2,970	1991-1994
5. Tyler Allgeier	2,904	2018-2021
6. LJ Martin	2,869	2023-Present
7. Taysom Hill	2,815	2012-2016
8. Lakei Heimuli	2,710	1983-1986
9. Jeff Blanc	2,663	1973-1975
10. Luke Staley	2,493	1999-2002

BYU is playing the long game with Martin. While it would be nice to see Martin become all-time leading rusher, the record is secondary to BYU's goals as a team in 2026. BYU needs Martin to be at his best when the Cougars take on their toughest opponents. In the first game against Texas Tech in 2025, Martin was clearly a fraction of himself after he suffered a shoulder injury in the Iowa State game two weeks prior.

If Martin is at his best against the likes of Notre Dame and Utah, the Cougars will have a chance to beat every team on their schedule. With more wins, especially if BYU makes the Big 12 title game and potentially the CFP, Martin would have more chances to become the program's all-time leading rusher.

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