LOGAN, Utah – Riley Burt is finishing his collegiate career closer to home.
 
The former Box Elder High School star and native of Mantua, Utah, is one of five graduate transfers on Utah State's 2019 roster. The running back joined the Aggies from BYU, where as a junior in 2018 he rushed for 323 yards and two touchdowns on 59 carries.
 
"After that season, I wanted to transfer," Burt said. "Coach (Gary) Andersen called and told me to come play for him. It sounded good to me, so I said, 'Alright.' I committed pretty fast and came up on a visit."
 
Burt and the Aggies (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West) open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, Sept. 7, against Stony Brook (1-0, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association). The non-conference game, which will be aired exclusively on Facebook, is set to kick off at 5:30 p.m., at Maverik Stadium.
 
The Aggies are glad to have him in what is now a pretty loaded backfield with the likes of senior Gerold Bright and junior Jaylen Warren, a transfer from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.
 
"He has played in a lot of football games, being a graduate transfer," said Utah State special teams coordinator/running backs coach Stacy Collins. "He finished last season in the bowl game and did a nice job. He's done a great job coming in here and fitting in right away, competing in a lot of different areas as a running back. He's done a great job for us on special teams, he's a mature young man and we're excited to have Riley here."
 
Andersen agreed.
 
"When we found out Riley was looking to make a decision to play somewhere else, I talked to (BYU head coach) Kalani Sitake and tried to get information and see what the scenario was," Andersen said. "We thought it would be a good, natural fit for us. We knew at that point we were looking for a couple more backs. We now have two senior running backs and Riley was a natural fit for us. He's had some good games, and he's been in a lot of college football games."
 
Burt capped his BYU career by rushing for 110 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries against Western Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
 
"He has big-play abilities," Collins noted. "He can flat out run and even though he is a very big back with great size, he has great speed. He had some legit track times in high school, and you can see it out here on the field. He can do some stuff that is really impressive."
 
The son of Nate and Lisa Burt graduated from BYU with a degree in exercise and wellness. He is currently working on his master's degree in physical education.
 
"He's faced adversity, but is a better person and player because of that," Andersen said. "He's been a great kid since he's been here and he's kind of coming home to play, too, which is important to him. He gets to be closer to home, and closer to his parents and family, and gets to play at Utah State for his senior year. He's excited and we're excited to have him."
 
Burt was a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and ESPN.com coming out of Box Elder HS, where he rushed for 1,109 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. He selected BYU over offers from Utah State, Utah, UNLV, Boise State and San Diego State at the time.
 
"Utah State looked at me back then, but I committed to BYU and wanted to be there," Burt said.
 
He's glad to be in Logan, playing for the Aggies now.
 
"I really want to have a good year, make some plays for the team and have the best season of my career," Burt said. "I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team and hopefully win a Mountain West championship."
 
Burt played in eight games as a freshman in 2015 for BYU. He carried the ball 14 times on the season for 86 yards. After missing the entire 2016 campaign due to injury, Burt appeared in eight games as a redshirt sophomore in 2017, recording 104 yards rushing and one touchdown on 23 carries.
 
In the Aggies' season opener at Wake Forest last Friday night, Burt made his debut with Utah State, playing on special teams.
 
Once his collegiate career is over, Burt, who went all four years of playing at BYU with dreadlocks and didn't have to cut his hair – "I grew my hair out and I hid it," – the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder wants to remain in athletics as a strength and conditioning coach.
 
"Hopefully, I get an internship somewhere, possibly at Utah State, which would be great," said Burt, who grew up a big fan of Walter Payton and wears No. 34 to honor him.
 
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
 
-USU-