Former BYU Running Back Pokaiaua Haunga Added to Snow College Roster
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BYU Cougars
Former BYU running back Pokaiaua Haunga has been added to the Snow College roster for the 2025 season. Haunga was a redshirt freshman running back at BYU before he was removed from the roster in the first week of Fall Camp. When asked about Haunga’s absence, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick told the media that Haunga would not be with the program in 2025.
Now that Haunga has moved on to Snow College, his future at BYU is firmly in doubt.
Haunga was used sparringly in 2024 and was going to take on a much greater role for the BYU offense in 2025.
BYU goes into the 2025 season with some depth risk at running back. As of the end of Fall Camp, BYU was still waiting on a decision in the case of Hinckley Ropati. Ropati appealed to the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility but has not received a response yet. Getting Ropati back for one more season would be critical for a BYU running back room that is thinner than anticipated.
BYU’s top two running backs are LJ Martin and Sione Moa. That’s not in question. Both Martin and Moa could be very effective for the BYU offense and as long as they are healthy, the running back position will be in a good spot for BYU.
However, staying healthy is a consistent challenge for running backs. Just last year, BYU used five running backs in the month of September alone. After Martin and Moa, there could be some depth concerns.
Behind Martin and Moa, the Cougars will turn to other players further down the depth chart like Enoch Nawahine, Logan Payne, Jovesa Damuni, and Preston Rex. Rex moved to running back over the Summer after starting his career at safety. However, Rex and Nawahine were banged up at times in Fall Camp.
Lucky Finau, a former linebacker, is also now at running back.
Given the depth at running back, there is nobody more important to keep healthy than LJ Martin. Having Martin through the whole season could be the difference in one or two more wins for BYU in 2025.
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Published Aug 23, 2025
Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST
Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.
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