LJ Martin Consulted BYU Legend Jamaal Williams on NFL Decision

BYU RB LJ Martin against WVU | BYU Photo

Last week, BYU star running back LJ Martin announced his plans to forego the NFL Draft and return to BYU for one more season. In an interview with BYU Sports Nation, Martin said he reached out to former BYU legendary running back Jamaal Williams to get his advice before making the decision.

Williams advised Martin to stay in school for one more season.

"Just talking to people and then just also having the opportunity to reach my goals," Martin said on what his thought process was. "If I came back for another season, I could [improve] my draft stock. I could have a chance to win some really cool awards and then also just talking to Jamal Williams, he was saying you're only in college once, you know, just enjoy it. He's like the NFL is not going to go nowhere. He's like, if you're good you're good. Like it's gonna happen. So just hearing that advice and hearing that, you know, you only get to be around these guys one more time."

Martin Will Chase BYU History

Before leaving for the NFL, Jamaal Williams became BYU's all-time leading rusher. That's a milestone that Martin will try to achieve in 2026.

When asked whether Martin cares about becoming BYU's all-time leading rusher, he said, "Yeah, 100%."

Martin has led BYU in rushing in all three of his years at BYU. He has a chance to become the first running back in BYU history to lead BYU in rushing in four consecutive seasons. That's not the only record that Martin could set at BYU in 2026.

In three years at BYU, Martin has 2,541 career rushing yards. That ranks ninth in BYU history and just ahead of Doak Walker Award winner Luke Staley.

Heading into the 2026 season, Martin is 1,360 rushing yards behind BYU all-time leading rusher Jamaal Williams. Martin had a career high 1,305 rushing yards in 2025. If Martin is able to narrowly exceed his 2025 production, he would become BYU's all-time leading rusher.

If he runs for 915 yards or more, he would surpass now BYU running backs coach Harvey Unga who ranks second in BYU history. As long as Martin stays healthy, he will rank no lower than third all time.

BYU All-Time Leading Rushers

1. Jamaal Williams - 3,901
2. Harvey Unga - 3,455
3. Curis Brown - 3,221
4. Jamal Willis - 2,970
5. Tyler Allgeier - 2,904
6. Taysom Hill - 2,815
7. Lakei Heimuli - 2,710
8. Jeff Blanc - 2,663
9. LJ Martin - 2,541
10. Luke Staley - 2,493

More importantly, Martin will be looking to lead BYU to its first Big 12 championship. The Cougars took an incremental step in 2025 by making it to the conference title game in Arlington. BYU fell short, losing only to Texas Tech.