What Sione Moa's Injury Means for the BYU Offense

BYU backup running back Sione Moa is going to miss extended time due to injury, he announced on social media on Wednesday. Whether Moa will be available to return to the lineup this season, or not, remains to be seen.

In the meantime, the BYU offense has to gameplan for Arizona without Moa in the backfield. Unfortunately for Moa, this is the third injury he has dealt with in as many years at BYU. BYU would certainly be better off with a healthy Moa, but they are accustomed to life without him. In this article, we will breakdown what Moa's absence means for

1. More Carries for Bear Bachmeier? That Can't Be the Answer

Sione Moa suffered a severe injury in week three last year against East Carolina. Up until that point, Bear Bachmeier was averaging seven carries per game. Instead of giving more carries to running backs after Moa's injury, Bachmeier ran the ball more. For the rest of the regular season, Bachmeier ran at least nine carries per game and he ran as many as 22 times against Arizona.

BYU is going to feed LJ Martin the football as often as possible with or without Sione Moa in the lineup. That will not change. However, BYU has to manage Martin's workload. Last year, there wasn't a running back ready to step in and take Sione Moa's carries, so that burden landed on Bear Bachmeier.

This season, BYU can't afford for Bear Bachmeier to replace Sione Moa's carries. The injury risk is too high. Whether it's Preston Rex, Journee Tonga, or Devaughn Eka, someone has to be ready to take on the 5-7 carries per game that Moa was expected to get.

Preston Rex is listed behind Moa on the depth chart. Rex has a year at running back under his belt, and he looks much more comfortable carrying the football than he did a year ago. Remember, Rex moved to running back just a few weeks before Fall Camp last season. Rex didn't play running back in high school, either, so it was a brand new position for him. Time will tell if he has improved enough take on Moa's role.

We expect Preston Rex to get the first opportunity to fill in for Sione Moa. He will need to produce, however, since Aaron Roderick has other running backs he could turn to instead.

2. A true freshman is going to play

Speaking of other options at running back, the two running backs behind LJ Martin and Preston Rex are true freshmen: Devaughn Eka and Journee Tonga. At least one of them will need to play this season.

Tonga, who joined the program as a walk-on before Fall Camp, was the first off the bench on Saturday. In fact, Tonga got some first-team opportunities in the first half. Tonga is a small, shifty back that is hard to bring down. He reminds us of a young Reno Mahe when Mahe was making people miss at BYU. He was highly productive in high school, but his size limited his recruitment. He turned down a scholarship offer from San Jose State to enroll at BYU.

Tonga was efficient against the Trailblazers. His first carry went for 34 yards to put BYU deep in Utah Tech territory. On the next play, he made a couple tacklers miss on his way to the end zone. Tonga showed was he was capable of with just two carries.

TONGA. TUDDY.

📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/cieMTrDycj
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 6, 2026

There are areas where Tonga needs to develop, specifically when it comes to pass protection. When it comes to carrying the football, however, Tonga is college-ready. Tonga had the highest rushing grade on the team according to PFF.

Fellow true freshman Devaughn Eka was next off the bench. Eka led the team with 59 yards on 8 carries. Eka forced three missed tackles on his eight carries, and he finished the night with a punishing touchdown run. Eka signed with BYU back in December out of Lehi High School. He was high school teammates with standout freshman wide receiver Legend Glasker. Eka could take on the role vacated by Sione Moa.

PUNISHER.

📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/cZtE1HDehl
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 6, 2026

3. Air it out more

Unlike last year, BYU has an experienced quarterback that can take on a bigger workload with his arm. BYU could increase Bear Bachmeier's pass attempts by 4-5 attempts per game if the running backs behind LJ Martin aren't performing.

There were moments last season where BYU relied on Bachmeier's arm and he delivered, namely against Iowa State and Georgia Tech when BYU was without both of its top running backs. Bachmeier is ready to air it out more if needed.

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