Cougs Daily

Early Look at the BYU RB Room That Surrounds LJ Martin

Martin headlines the BYU running back room in 2026
Casey Lundquist|
BYU RB LJ Martin celebrates a touchdown run against ECU
BYU RB LJ Martin celebrates a touchdown run against ECU | BYU Photo

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BYU Cougars

For the first time since the transfer portal was started, we can start to project what BYU's roster as early as January. While BYU could still add a few players that entered the portal when it was open, most of BYU's roster is set.

In this article, we're taking a way-too-early look at the 2026 BYU running back room.

Before we get started, one important note:

  1. We don't know for sure who redshirted in 2025, so we assumed everyone would be one class older than they were in 2025

Newcomers will be marked with a note on their paths to BYU.

Without further ado, here is BYU's projected running back room for the 2026 season.

BYU's Projected Running Back Room

  • LJ Martin - Senior
  • Preston Rex - Senior
  • Jovesa Damuni - Sophomore
  • Sione Moa - Junior
  • Charlie Miska - Sophomore
  • Logan Payne - Sophomore
  • Lucky Finau - Junior
  • DeVaughn Eka - Freshman (2026 Signee)
  • Micah Beckstead - Freshman (Returned Missionary)

BYU has declined to add a transfer running back so far from the transfer portal. LJ Martin is the obvious headliner of this group. Martin will try to become BYU's all-time leading rusher in 2026. The question surrounding BYU's running back room in 2026 is who will emerge behind Martin. As long as Martin is healthy, BYU's running back position will be in a great spot.

We expect Sione Moa to be the favorite to win the backup job. Moa missed most of the 2025 season due to injury.

True freshman and 2026 signee DeVaughn Eka will join the program after a standout career at Lehi High School. Eka could really boost the room if he's ready to contribute right away. Eka ran for 3,000 yards over the last 3 years at Lehi.

A Surprise Addition

Keep an eye on former Utah State signee Micah Beckstead. Beckstead was offered a PWO spot coming out of high school. He accepted a scholarship offer to Utah State instead. Beckstead returned from his mission and enrolled at BYU in January, he confirmed to BYU On SI. Beckstead has been on Harvey Unga's radar for a long term, and it made a lot of sense for the Cougars to add him.

Beckstead was a star at Timpview High School. He ran for over 3,500 yards in his career and he put up massive numbers a senior. That year, he finished with 1,957 rushing yards while averaging 9.6 yards per carry. He ran for more than 100 yards in 11 out of 13 games he played, and he averaged 151 rushing yards per game.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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