BYU football: Unga can break team's all-time mark with another 854 yards

PROVO — With 2,368 rushing yards already on his resume after two seasons at BYU, junior running back Harvey Unga needs only 854 yards to become the Cougars' all-time leading rusher.

It seems the only thing that could prevent him from accomplishing that feat this season is injuries.

A year ago, Unga was hampered by an ankle sprain, shoulder stingers and shoulder sprains, but he still managed to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau.

So it is that after an off-season that saw Unga lose a few pounds, go through physical therapy and visit chiropractors, and a fall camp where he has been held out of contract drills, and running backs coach Lance Reynolds has said of him, "He's playing really well right now, better than ever before," he injured his hamstring during Monday's morning practice.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Unga will play against Oklahoma in the season-opener on Sept. 5.

Still, Unga's latest ailment raises questions once again — will he be at full speed like he was in 2007 as a freshman?

"I'm the kind of guy that if you need me out there, I'll be out there," Unga said last week. "If something's hurting, it's going to hurt. I'd rather be out there hurting and trying to do something good for the team than doing nothing at all."

Last season, Unga said, "was frustrating at times" because of various injuries. "But that comes with the game. Talking to players before me, they told me, 'That's the name of the game — staying healthy.' It's going to happen regardless of what I want."

The return of blocker-extraordinaire Manase Tonga should bolster Unga's running, just like he did when he opened holes for Unga two years ago.

Unga is getting more and more questions about the possibility of becoming the school's all-time No. 1 rusher.

"Is that my focus? No. I want to win," he said. "That's what I'm here for. As long as I'm doing what I need to be doing to help my team and to win, I think everything else will fall into place. I'm not too worried about the record. If it happens, I'd be grateful. It would be an honor to have that. Right now, my focus is to win. Everything else will fall into place."

While BYU is known for its quarterbacks, past Cougar running backs keep up with the program and Unga talks to them, or texts them, on a regular basis. Unga considers Curtis Brown, who currently reigns as BYU's No. 1 all-time rusher, as a mentor. The two went out to lunch together recently.