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LOGAN — Utah State senior Zach Vigil started his college football career as a walk-on linebacker in 2010, hoping to contribute to the lineup and eventually earn a scholarship.
He’ll leave the Aggies as part of the winningest senior class in Utah State history, and top 10 all-time in the program for tackles.
Vigil was the only player from the Mountain West Conference named as one of 10 semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy, which the Springdale (Arkansas) Rotary Club awards annually to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on.
Vigil’s nomination is the fifth-straight for Utah State to the Burlsworth Trophy watch list. Jake Doughty (2013), McKade Brady (2012), Eric Moats (2011) and Levi Koskan (2010) all earned nominations in past seasons. The Aggies have had a semifinalist in back-to-back seasons after Doughty’s appearance in 2013.
The other semifinalists are East Carolina’s Justin Hardy, Iowa’s Mark Weisman, Kansas State’s Jonathan Truman, Marshall’s Chris Jasperse, Michigan State’s Jack Conklin, Mississippi State’s Ben Beckwith, North Carolina’s Mack Hollins, Notre Dame’s Joe Schmidt and Stanford’s David Parry.
Vigil walked on to the Aggies’ football team in 2010 and appeared in four games as a redshirt freshman in 2011. He earned a scholarship the next year, when he started in all 13 games and earned second-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors with 105 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
His development only accelerated through this year, when the 6-foot-2, 240-pound native of Clearfield leads the team with 114 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Vigil will finish his career ranked in the top 10 in Utah State history in tackles, and he is currently ranked eighth with 347 career tackles. He is one of four players in school history to record at least 100 tackles in three different seasons.
