‘They can do it all’: BYU believes its backup running backs can get the job done — again

BYU’s offensive coaches spent a lot of time this past offseason developing their rushing attack.

The first season in the Big 12 taught coaches they absolutely, positively, have to be able to run the football in the league that has transitioned from wide-open, spread-it-out attacks to more ground-oriented, ball-control schemes.

That emphasis was apparent, and successful, the first three games as BYU (3-0) used a fairly balanced offense to knock off Southern Illinois, SMU and Wyoming. But the first true litmus test comes Saturday, as No. 13 Kansas State (3-0) rolls into LaVell Edwards Stadium for a Big 12 opener (8:30 p.m., ESPN).

If the Cougars can’t run the football effectively to take some pressure off quarterback Jake Retzlaff, and keep dynamic and dual-threat KSU QB Avery Johnson off the field for as long as possible, it could be a long late-night affair in Provo for the home team.

But here’s the problem: BYU’s top two running backs, sophomore LJ Martin (ankle) and senior Hinckley Ropati (knee), probably won’t play for the second-straight week. Both are “getting better every day,” according to offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, but remain questionable for the Wildcats.

The situation “is still pretty fluid,” Roderick said. “We feel like both of them could play without a lot of practice reps. They are veteran players that we trust. I am not sure that they will be ready, though, so we have been giving a lot of reps to those same guys that played in the Wyoming game.”

Redshirt junior Miles Davis got the most carries against the Cowboys, but was mostly ineffective with just 15 yards on eight totes. True freshmen Pokai Haunga and Sione I. Moa combined for 52 yards on 11 carries and Moa ran for a touchdown that was called back by a penalty.

“I wasn’t surprised at all (by the way the freshmen played),” Roderick said. “That’s what they do every day in practice. They are just behind some older guys (on the depth chart). I knew their time was coming eventually. It didn’t surprise me. That is what they do every day.”

Roderick said Davis “played well” as well, despite what the numbers suggest.

“He made a nice play on a pass check down in the first quarter and got us a first down. Nothing really flashy happened, but he did his job,” Roderick said. “He ran where he was supposed to run. He blocked who he was supposed to block, and he is a good receiver.”

Enoch Nawahine, the redshirt junior who had a 9-yard touchdown run on fourth down in the 18-15 win over SMU, is also expected to be able to go after he was a late scratch in Wyoming. Nawahine, a Kahuku (Hawaii) product who played for Utah State in 2019 before a church mission to Zambia, said Wednesday that the shoulder issue he had over the summer that kept him out of contact the first few weeks of fall camp flared up a bit in the SMU game.

“I am feeling a lot better this week. Felt a little bit banged up after SMU, so it was a game time decision for coach Harvey (Unga),” Nawahine said. “They decided to keep me out for Wyoming, but I feel great this week.”

Head coach Kalani Sitake said Monday that he feels good about the entire group of running backs, something he has been saying since preseason training camp opened in late July with Martin’s status in question due to a shoulder injury from spring camp.

“I was happy with what Miles did when he came in, and happy with Sione Moa, what he did, and happy with Pokai Haunga when he came in. Those guys did a great job, and we know we have Enoch Nawahine there, too,” Sitake said.

Roderick said the injuries to Ropati and Martin haven’t caused him to change his game plan one iota.

“Those (backups) know the offense. We can play Sione or Pokai or Enoch, obviously Miles. They can do it all. They are true three-skill backs. All of them can run the ball. They can block, and they are good receivers,” Roderick said.

The offensive coordinator said the performances the past two weeks since Martin limped off in the first half of the SMU game shows that Unga is a good running backs coach. After Saturday’s showdown, BYU plays at Baylor on Sept. 28, then has the first of two bye weeks this season.

“It also presents the question of how hard to we push LJ and Folau (Ropati) back,” Roderick said. “Obviously, LJ is a really special player, and we want him back. But we don’t want to have a setback, either. It is a tough decision we have to make by Saturday.”

For the toughest game of the season, to date.