BYU Football Star LJ Martin Returning For 2026 Season
Jan 8, 2026, 3:30 PM | Updated: Jan 9, 2026, 9:47 am
PROVO, Utah – BYU football star running back LJ Martin is returning for one more season.
The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2025 announced on his Instagram page that he is coming back to BYU for the 2026 season to complete his collegiate eligibility.
His Instagram post featured an image that read, “Not Done Yet.”
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Martin has led BYU in rushing yards in each of the past three seasons. His 2025 season was the best of his career as he rushed for 1,305 yards on 236 carries. Martin scored 12 rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
The 1,305 yards Martin ran for were the seventh-best single-season rushing performance by a player in BYU football history.
LJ Martin returning to BYU football for one final season
Martin’s return gives BYU football one of the best running backs in the nation entering the 2026 season.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound ball carrier is working his way back from a shoulder surgery he underwent last month.
When he returns, along with being one of the top ball carriers nationally, he will help form one of the best offensive backfields in the country with quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who announced last night that he would be returning in 2026 as well.
Martin is 1,347 rushing yards away from being the all-time leading rusher in BYU football history.
The El Paso, Texas native considered declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. However, an aggregation of NFL mock drafts had Martin listed as a fifth-round pick.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
