A quick glance at BYU’s depth chart for the 2025 season opener against Portland State seems to indicate that the Cougars are deep at the quarterback, running back and tight end positions.
After all, four players each made the depth chart at those three positions.
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Barring injuries, however, it is highly doubtful that freshman Emerson Geilman will get any meaningful snaps at quarterback, or that fellow fourth-stringer Noah Moeaki will see much of the field as a tight end.
It could be a different story at running back, though, as redshirt senior Enoch Nawahine is listed as the fourth-stringer there but could see a couple carries, or more, per game. That’s just the history of that position at BYU. Backups always seem to be pushed into action, as starters rarely go through the season unscathed.
Junior LJ Martin, a newly anointed team captain, is the clearcut RB1 and expected to get the bulk of the carries in 2025. Sophomore Sione Moa is up next, and eager to become a factor again.
Redshirt freshman Jovesa Damuni, a returned missionary, is the third-stringer, and showed some flashes of brilliance in preseason training camp.
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Then there’s Nawahine, who has been in the program since 2022 after transferring from Utah State.
“Obviously LJ and Sione are going to be our main guys, and then after that, I see myself rotating in,” Nawahine said during Photo Day. “Everyone got injured last year, so we all got in and out a lot. We know we all have to be ready.”
After spring camp, it appeared that sophomore Pokaiaua Haunga would be in the mix for RB2 or RB3, but the Timpview High product left the team for personal reasons and is now enrolled at Snow College in Ephraim.
“It is super hard and unfortunate to not have Pokaiaua with us this season,” Nawahine said. “But we should be OK with the guys we have. Whoever knows the playbook best, and whoever is the most healthy, is going to (pick up the slack). That is the name of the game. Especially with this being my senior season, I am about just staying healthy and staying ready to be the next man up.”
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Nawahine played high school football at Hawaii powerhouse Kahuku and committed to Boise State before walking on at Utah State. After posting 16 carries for 53 yards in 10 games for the Aggies, he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Zambia, where he learned to speak Chichewa.
While Nawahine was on his mission, Gary Andersen resigned as USU’s coach, and eventually joined BYU’s staff as an analyst.
“When I got back from my mission, I wanted to play for him because he’s an awesome man and a great coach,” Nawahine said. “He had contacts over here at BYU with coach Kalani (Sitake) and others, so he got me a spot here.”
Nawahine’s nickname is Pohaku — which means rock, or stone, in his native Hawaii. He’s built like a bowling ball, which he showed when he ran up the middle on 4th-and-1 for a 9-yard touchdown against SMU last year for the go-ahead touchdown in the 18-15 win. He sustained a shoulder injury later in that game and missed the Wyoming game, but returned to rush for 25 yards on five carries against Kansas State.
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A week later, he got the first start of his college career against Baylor and had 19 carries for 51 yards. That performance gave him confidence that he can be a reliable alternative to Martin and Moa, if needed.
“Going into my third year at BYU, I just want to be known as a guy who was always ready (to play),” he said. “I don’t regret coming here at all. I love this program, love this school, and this is where my family is.”
Nawahine and his wife Maylisa, a Utah Valley University student from Provo, were married last January.
“That’s another reason why I’m glad (coach Andersen) helped get me here,” he said.
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LJ Martin still poised to be the workhorse
Of course, the loss of Haunga won’t be felt at all if Martin, Moa, Damuni and Nawahine all stay healthy.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick named Martin and receiver Chase Roberts the offensive MVPs of training camp on his recent Coordinators’ Corner show.
“LJ is a standout. He has always been a very good player, but you can just see that he has taken his game to another level this year,” Roderick said. “It starts with what great shape he is in. He lost some weight, got trimmed up. And he still looks great out there.”
Roderick said the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Martin is faster than he’s ever been.
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“You can tell the game has really slowed down for him, because he has played so much football,” Roderick said.
Moa, who also prepped at Timpview after moving from Victorville, California, has also fine-tuned his body after appearing in 11 games as a freshman.
“Sione is a three-skill back, Roderick said “He can run the ball, he can catch it out of the backfield, and he’s a very good blocker. So we are super excited about both of those guys.”
Roderick said redshirt junior Preston Rex, who moved over from safety, has been one of the surprises of fall camp as a running back.
“He’s going to help us this year,” Roderick said.
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Other running backs on the roster are redshirt sophomore Lucky Finau of Alta High, redshirt freshman Charlie Miska of Virginia, redshirt sophomore Kason Krebs from Mission Viejo High in California, and Logan Payne, a freshman from Weber High in Northern Utah.
Cougars on the air
Portland State (0-1) at BYU (0-0)
• Saturday, 6 p.m. MDT
• At LaVell Edwards Stadium
• Provo, Utah
• TV: ESPN+
• Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM
