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BYU sophomore Sione Moa (30) runs the ball up the field during the non-conference game against Portland State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU sophomore running back Sione Moa runs toward the sideline as a defender tries to tackle him during a scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Monday, March 17, 2025.

Jaren Wikley, BYU Photo

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I know what some of you out there are thinking.

And it’s this: BYU survived and indeed thrived without Sione Moa last season, so why not again this season?

Oh, and your argument is made even stronger as you point out just how good BYU’s young trio of Preston Rex, Journee Tonga and DeVaughn Eka all looked when running out of the Cougar backfield during last Saturday’s game versus Utah Tech.

I’d argue, though, that last year was sort of miraculous with how BYU thrived while riding heavily on LJ Martin and Bear Bachmeier, and it’s dubious if it can do so again this year.

But first let’s back up a bit.

In case you weren’t aware, Sione Moa made a heartbreaking announcement from his hospital bed late on Wednesday that he tore both his PCL and MCL during last week’s game versus the Trailblazers, effectively ending his season while putting his football career in jeopardy yet again.

Can the football Gods be this cruel?

I mean, seriously.

Throw away the fact that Moa is one heck of a nice kid, but the fact that he also battled back from a his serious compartment syndrome malady last season to make an unlikely return this year. He progressed through spring without incident into the fall practice session where he appeared primed to be a big part of the Cougar offense throughout the next eleven games and into what’s hoped to be a bid to the College Football Playoff.

But he’s gone now due to being rolled up on during a game where the Cougars didn’t really need him to be out there for even one rep.

That’s how football goes, and it can be enormously cruel.

So back to the task at hand in replacing Moa and what his loss ultimately does to the Cougar offense, as a whole.

First off, like you, I was impressed and encouraged with what I saw last week from Rex, Tonga, Eka and even Logan Payne in mop-up duty. All of them showcased intriguing skill sets that could prove able to make big gains behind the Cougar offensive front against most teams scheduled this season.

If only running the football was the solitary virtue in playing the running back position at the collegiate level and certainly within BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s system.

Yes, I’m talking about all the pre-snap checks and pass protections involved in taking on opposing defenses, all of which will prove worlds more capable and problematic than Utah Tech over the next 11 weeks.

I remember interviewing BYU running backs coach Harvey Unga (back when he actually did interviews with the media) regarding the chief responsibilities of a running back within Roderick’s system. First and foremost was everything but the running aspect, which would seem like an oxymoron, but it’s what Unga and most every other coach has explained to me throughout the years.

So it’s a big deal, and again, it’s dubious that the Cougars can reproduce the remarkable backfield backfield returns it did a season ago even when given the fact that, yes, BYU will have better depth this year as opposed to last.

Can young bucks like Eka and Tonga get up to speed with their pre-snap checks and blocking assignments? Maybe, but it’s a tough task and certainly not something each of them showed capable of doing against the Trailblazers last week.

So what all of it will likely lead to is an attempt to reprise what BYU had to depend on a season ago, and yes, riding both Bear Bachmeier and Martin in the backfield can provide big dividends. Both players are studs and have already shown capable although repeating their respective tolls taken on their bodies from a season ago could prove ultimately debilitating and it doesn’t take any type of genius to outline just how devastating the loss of either player would hold in store for BYU’s offensive futures.

So cross your fingers, Cougar fans, and just hope BYU can somehow figure this thing out and skate by at least as well as it did a season ago, which is again, entirely possible.