BYU Freshman Running Back LJ Martin is Already 'One of the Best Players on the Team'

BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick says the true freshman will play this season

After practice on Tuesday, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick sat down with Jarom Jordan to discuss the state of the offense midway through Fall camp. In the interview, Roderick gave a glowing review of true freshman running back LJ Martin. "LJ Martin is a standout in camp so far," Roderick said. "He's one of the best players on this team. He will play this year. He's a very good football player...I try not to get too excited about freshman sometimes. But he's already proven that he's going to be a player for us this season."

Martin, a native of El Paso, Texas, came to BYU as a highly-coveted recruit (four-star per ESPN). Martinwas been one of the most productive running backs in Texas over the last two seasons. He was named to the TSWA Class 5A First-Team All State last season after eclipsing 1,900 rushing yards and tallying 17 rushing touchdowns in 2022. In 2021, Martin ran for over 2,700 yards which ranked in the top five in Texas.

Martin joined a very deep running back room consisting of Aidan Robbins, Deion Smith, Hinckley Ropati, and Miles Davis. Robbins will start in 2023 and Deion Smith will play a major role, but if Roderick's comments are any indication, Martin has carved out a role for himself as well.

Credit: BYU Photo

Every year, the college football coaching carousel creates recruiting opportunities late in the recruiting cycle. That was the case in the recruitment of LJ Martin. Martin was committed to Stanford when the departure of Dave Shaw that opened the door for BYU. The Cougars flipped Martin on signing day.

Martin was one of the most difficult backs to tackle in his class. He has great size at 6'2, 205 pounds, but it's not just his size that makes him so difficult to bring to the ground. He possesses a rare combination of elusiveness, size, vision, and power. He is also a receiving threat out of the backfield and was used as a receiver on various occasions. You can check out his high school highlights below.

Martin has been mentioned as a standout by various people in the program. During last Saturday's scrimmage, Martin scored a pair of touchdowns.

It appears that BYU got a really good one in LJ Martin.

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