Mapping the Next Generation of BYU’s Backfield Following Latest Commitment

On Wednesday, BYU got a commitment from 2027 running back prospect Ezra Sanelivi. Sanelivi picked the Cougars over competing offers from Washington, Wisconsin, Arizona, Iowa, Arkansas, Cal, and Michigan State among others. He is a top 10 prospect in Nevada per 247Sports.

In the current era of college athletics, it's nearly impossible to map out future position groups. However, coaches still have to plan well into the future for their position groups, especially at BYU where missions play such a big role in roster construction. Today, we're going to look towards the future and map out the future of BYU's running back room.

With Sanelivi in the fold, there are three running backs in the future pipeline for BYU that are not enrolled: McKay Madsen, Kingston Keanaaina, and Ezra Sanelivi. Those three, combined with true freshman Devaughn Eka who enrolled in January, give us a glimpse of what the future of the BYU running back could look like.

Life After LJ Martin

It's no secret that LJ Martin will be the feature back for BYU in 2026. If Martin is healthy, he will get 20 carries per game. Behind Martin, Sione Moa will be featured in the offense as well. Moa is entering his redshirt sophomore remaining, so he's a name that will factor in the future of the BYU backfield as well.

As of this writing, these are the scholarship BYU running backs that are scheduled to be on the roster and what class they will be in 2027:

Sione Moa (RS Junior)
Jovesa Damuni (RS Junior)
Devaughn Eka (Sophomore)
McKay Madsen (Freshman)
Ezra Sanelivi (Freshman)
Kingston Keanaaina (Freshman)

The good news is that BYU will welcome three talented young running backs into the program. McKay Madsen, who could also play linebacker, is expected to start his career as a running back. He was a four-star recruit with no shortage of options. He has the talent to be a feature running back in the future. Kingston Keanaaina and Ezra Savelivi are two productive backs that could be early contributors and eventuall starters. Then there is Devaughn Eka who is already enrolled at BYU and has looked well. He could be ready to take on a larger role in 2027.

The bad news is BYU won't return a feature back, and they probably won't have the scholarship capital to go to the portal and bring one in. That is, unless there is attrition through the portal. BYU is already expected to welcome in as many as three true freshmen running backs. LJ Martin is the only back that will graduate out of the program.

Harvey Unga has done the hard part: he has stocked the running pipeline with talented backs. Now, it's about developing them to be ready to replace one of the best backs in BYU history in LJ Martin.