After career-threatening injury, BYU's Sione Moa grateful for chance to 'just play football'

PROVO — Sione Moa was smiling, laughing and cracking jokes in his usual way as he exited the BYU practice field after a training-camp workout Tuesday, which may not seem like anything out of the ordinary.

But considering where the 5-foot-10, 220-pound redshirt sophomore had been less than a year prior — the excruciating pain, the agonizing surgery, and the months of rehab that followed a potentially life-changing (and career-threatening) injury — the normalcy was welcome.

"Honestly, just to play football," Moa said. "I almost had it taken away from me last year. So I'm grateful every day just to play the sport. I hope I can play this sport for as long as I can."

On the verge

Moa was a prime candidate for a breakout season a year ago in a backfield that also featured rising star LJ Martin.

Martin's exploits in the Cougars' 12-2 season are well known, erupting for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games en route to Big 12 offensive player of the year honors.

Moa was supposed to be Martin's direct complement, a secondary back who could run, pass and block; feature as an off-returner on special teams; and be the thunder to Martin's lightning, the lightning to Martin's thunder; the LenDale White to Martin's Reggie Bush; or any other famous two-man tag-team complement.

"He's my best friend in the backfield, like Spongebob and Patrick," Moa said. "We're just one and two."

But Moa played in just four games of the 2025 campaign, totaling 92 yards and a touchdown including back-to-back games with a season-high seven carries in wins over Stanford and East Carolina.

In that game against the Pirates, Moa suffered an injury that would set him back — and nearly so much more.

During the game, Moa took a hit to his quadriceps that sent him to the medical tent for treatment. On the plane ride home and early the next morning, his swelling and bleeding worsened into "the worst I've ever felt in my life," he told doctors at Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital.

By the time Dr. Dain Allred saw the running back early Sunday morning, Moa was in excruciating pain. His thigh was swollen and tight. He spent the four-hour flight home in severe pain, drove home in pain, and struggled to sleep before he consulted with BYU athletic trainers the next morning.

The veteran orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine diagnosed him with compartment syndrome of the thigh, a devastating condition in the lower extremity caused by excessive pressure that decreases blood flow in the leg and may lead to nerve damage, limb dysfunction and amputation if left untreated.

Saving the leg

Allred quickly brought Moa into the operating room, where the surgeon performed a fasciotomy, cutting the connective tissue that surrounds the muscle to relieve the pressure.The procedure — which head coach Kalani Sitake described as "emergency," but not season-ending at the time — can immediately relieve pain and restore blood flow, saving the leg from further damage.

Moa did his own research into the condition, realized the severity of the diagnosis, and noting fast action was needed to aid the Division I athlete and avid pickleball player.

Neither Allred nor representatives for Intermountain Health responded to a request for comment about Moa's condition. But in a Facebook post last spring, the orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine and the team at Utah Valley Hospital described potentially devastating effects from the injury.

"If it isn't treated, the pressure can cut off blood flow — which can cause muscle to die and lead to nerve injury," the post read. "Long-term risk includes limb dysfunction or amputation. This can be a career-ending injury for an athlete."

Intermountain Health is a corporate sponsor of BYU Athletics, and the "official medical provider" of the university's varsity sports. Allred, who also operated on Real Salt Lake midfielder Emeka Eneli for a minor knee surgery in the spring, has worked with plenty of high-profile athletes in the past but praised Moa's attitude during the recovery.

"Due to Sione's toughness and determination," he said, "he's regained his strength and speed and we're excited to see him this fall with the Cougars."

Road to recovery

Moa played in just one more game the rest of the season, carrying the ball once for two yards and adding a short reception against Texas Tech in a 34-7 loss in the Big 12 championship game.

Shutting him down after four games also allowed him to use his redshirt, meaning he'll return this fall as a third-year sophomore with three seasons of eligibility for the Victorville, California, who finished his high school career at nearby Timpview High.

And he's ready to go — thanks to BYU's medical staff and doctors that treated him urgently in a threatening situation.

"I feel great, honestly," Moa said. "It's been a long road to recovery, but I think we have the best training room and sports science people in the nation. I've been able to get back from my injury, basically 100 percent now. I'm ready to go."

After the harrowing incident, Moa's outlook has changed, too. He's grateful for every day he gets to play football, be it in practice or games, because he knows how quickly he came to losing it all — and more.

His biggest goal for the season opener Sept. 9 against Utah Tech, then? To stay healthy.

"But after that," he added. "I just hope I can contribute whenever I'm on the field, whether it's out of the backfield. But the thing I want to work on the most is my pass pro, and being that sixth O-lineman. The quarterback makes the most money, and we've got to protect him.

"That's my No. 1 goal coming into the Utah Tech game, to show coaches that I can do all three: run the ball, catch the ball, and also protect."

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