BYU Stats Nerd: Celebrating the brilliance of LJ Martin, Parker Kingston, and Siale Esera against Arizona

BYU is 6-0 and ranked No. 15 after their incredible, inexplicable, nearly miraculous double overtime victory on the road at Arizona. Let’s take a look at some of the key stats that fueled Kalani Sitake’s team to pull off a massive Big 12 win last week. 

LJ Martin is on pace for a historic season

Junior running back LJ Martin is healthy this season, and he’s spectacular. 

In his first two seasons in Provo he appeared in 20 games with 246 carries and 1,236 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. But he was also often playing dinged up and somewhat limited. 

A now-healthy Martin is going bonkers. 

Against Arizona, he quite literally shouldered the load in leading the offense to a win. With backup Sione Moa injured, LJ ended up with 25 carries for a whopping 162 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound bruiser averaged 6.5 yards per carry behind some dominant running and outstanding blocking. 

Through six games this season LJ Martin has 652 rushing yards, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. 

With BYU now qualifying for a bowl game, giving them a 13th game this year, Martin is on pace for 1,413 yards this season. That total would rank third in BYU history behind Tyler Allgeier (1,601 yards) and Doak Walker Award winner Luke Staley (1,582 yards). 

Parker Kingston is getting crowned

BYU does not beat Arizona without the heroics of redshirt junior wide receiver Parker Kingston. 

Facing a stingy Wildcat secondary, Kingston came up with five receptions for a career--high 117 yards and a touchdown. His score came on a 75-yard house call where the former track star showed off his incredible speed, making the Arizona secondary look like they were running in wooden shoes. 

But Kingston’s impact transcended his receiving stats. 

First, Parker’s 26-yard punt return with 2:55 left in the game was key in setting up BYU’s game-tying touchdown with 19 seconds left in regulation. Kingston’s huge punt return gave the Cougars offense possession at the Arizona 47, which was a massive help to freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier. 

Lastly, on the crucial final touchdown drive in regulation, Parker drew a pass interference call on third-and-goal with 24 seconds remaining to set up the game-tying score on the next play. 

The last two weeks have revealed a lot about Parker Kingston’s “inner dawg.” He had a slow start to his 2025 campaign after losing his punt returner job due to ball security issues while also only contributing four receptions for 12 yards through the Cougars first two games. 

Kingston didn’t sulk. He didn’t cower. He didn’t regress. 

Instead, Parker’s last four games has been the best stretch of his career. In his last four outings he has 19 receptions for 321 yards and two touchdowns. He has also reclaimed the punt returner job and as noted above made a huge play as a returner against Arizona. 

Parker Kingston is being crowned. 

Siale Esera had his coming out party

With a jaw-dropping 16 tackles against Arizona, redshirt sophomore Siale Esera officially broke out. 

In his redshirt 2023 season, the former Timpview High star had 19 tackles and an interception in five games. Last year he was limited to five games due to a lisfranc injury and had just five tackles and a sack. 

Now healthy, Esera had 15 tackles through five games this year before facing Arizona. With outside linebacker Jack Kelly out due to injury, Esera was given his opportunity to shine. 

Siale Esera didn’t just shine. He radiated. 

Esera was all over the field with his 16 tackles last week. Not only did he stuff the stat sheet, he also drew a potentially game-saving holding call against Arizona in the first overtime to negate a touchdown. The Wildcats had to settle for a field goal, which BYU’s offense matched in the first overtime before winning in double OT. 

Siale Esera had 24 tackles in 15 career games before facing Arizona. He left Tucson with 40. Siale Esera had his coming out party.