In seniors’ pinnacle, BYU showcased depth of youth led by star LJ Martin

SAN ANTONIO (KSL.com) — With a few minutes on the clock and a double-digit lead, BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill made his way from the coaches’ box to the field with defensive consultant Gary Andersen and linebackers coach Justin Ena to celebrate the Cougars’ 36-14 win over No. 23 Colorado on the field in the Alamo Bowl.

The second-year coordinator and associate head coach wrapped his arms around young cornerback Therrian “Tre” Alexander III in a tearful embrace, then found his family as they watched the Cougars accept the championship trophy and a pair of MVP honors for linebacker Isaiah Glasker and running back LJ Martin.

Glasker’s role in BYU’s defense was unmatched, with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception when the Cougars sacked Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders four times, picked him off twice, and held the Buffaloes to 2 net rushing yards.

“Honestly, Jay Hill, he came up with a great game plan,” said the redshirt sophomore Glasker underneath the Alamodome, where a capacity crowd of 64,261 that was about 40% BYU faithful was filtering out of the former home of the San Antonio Spurs. “We’ve been game planning for three weeks, and I don’t know, the big thing for him is we like to bring the pressure. … I feel like we just got to him early, and he was just kind of superstitious about who was going to come.”

Hill’s game plan was a masterpiece, with the Cougars showing as many as 17 different looks against the Buffaloes (9-4) en route to a 20-0 halftime lead, according to Andersen, led by seniors with multiple years of experience in the system.

But in a game of complementary football, Hill’s defense needed a second helping. And Martin was highly complimentary as the complement, taking little credit himself as he sat quietly in the postgame press conference before head coach Kalani Sitake called him out.

“I like it a lot,” Martin said as the soft-spoken offensive MVP quietly slipped into his chair next to Sitake, cradling his silver MVP trophy after making his way behind the Valero signage on the postgame podium.

It turns out, the best way to contain Colorado’s explosive offense that included Sanders, a projected first-round NFL draft pick; and Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner and two-way cornerback who signed with Lil Wayne’s sports agency a day after catching four passes for 106 yards and a touchdown against the Cougars, was to keep them off the field.

And boy, did BYU do just that.

The Cougars outgained the Buffaloes 331 yards to 210, ran 65 plays to Colorado’s 42, and powered past a team that gave up 207 yards and three touchdowns (on 37 carries) to Kansas star Devin Neal in a 37-21 loss with a steady diet of their own run game.

The bulk of the spoonfuls came from Martin, who vroomed, zoomed and caromed off defenders to 93 net yards on 17 carries, including touchdown runs of 1 and 9 yards. The El Paso, Texas, native ran for more yards (6) on his first official carry than Colorado’s net yardage after factoring in Sanders’ four sacks that included a 23-yard loss in the first half.

“Last time I came down here, I think I got hurt,” said Martin, whose freshman teammate Sione Moa added 24 yards and a touchdown on four carries. “So just to come out here and just be able to go out there and just play to the best of my ability, it was just really fun and was just everything I imagined it would be.”

True to his form — and that of all good running backs — Martin gave plenty of credit to his teammates, including a veteran offensive line led by senior center Connor Pay and left tackle Caleb Etienne. The hogs up front bullied Colorado’s defensive line, creating a clean pocket that allowed just two sacks against quarterback Jake Retzlaff and carved out lanes for 209 total rushing yards (and 180 after adjusting for sacks and backup quarterback Gerry Bohanon’s three kneel-downs to close out the game).

In 10 games with eight starts, Martin quietly added on to his breakout freshman campaign from a year ago to finish with 732 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 72.3 yards per game on 13.8 attempts. He’s BYU’s best running back since Jamaal Williams — the current New Orleans Saints tailback and kick returner — by yardage, touchdown and workhorse rate through the first two seasons of his career.

“It’s awesome just being able to see our hard work just being seen,” Martin said. “It’s also a credit to the 10 other guys that were on the field with me at different times. You know them. Without Connor blocking up front this doesn’t happen; without the defense stopping them, giving us the ball back, this doesn’t happen. It’s credit to everyone else, everyone who got us ready and just helped us throughout the game.”

The former Stanford commit who was a signing-day flip to BYU two years ago out of Canutillo High has two years to add to the praises and accolades of his BYU career.

He may quietly defer to his teammates for now. But the volume is raising on the young star.