It has often been said that a boy goes away to college and returns home four years later a man.

Senior linebacker Byron Hout has one more game left in his exceptional football career at Boise State - Thursday's MAACO Bowl Las Vegas vs. Arizona State.

But earlier this week, the former Lake City High star spoke more of what impact Boise State coach Chris Petersen has had on him as a person, than about anything he learned or accomplished on the football field.

“Coach Pete has turned me into a better person, teaching me not only skills that I’m using on the football field, but more about life off the football field. He probably coaches more about that than actual football,” Hout said in a phone interview from Boise. “I’m really glad that I came down here, and got the opportunity to learn some things from him. He’s definitely changed my life.”

Like how?

“He’s always preaching about integrity and responsibility, and being an ambassador — things you’re going to carry with you the rest of your life,” Hout said.

Hout’s football experience in Boise has been pretty good as well.

This season, his second as a starting inside linebacker, the 6-foot, 239-pound Hout leads the Broncos with 65 tackles, including an 18-tackle performance against Air Force which earned him Mountain West Conference defensive player of the week honors.

He has two forced fumbles, and blocked a punt vs. UNLV.

“He’s the heart and soul of the defense,” said Bob Gregory, in his second season as linebackers coach at Boise State. “He plays with a ton of passion, a lot of energy, a smart player, a very physical player. He’s really everything that you want in an inside linebacker. I couldn’t be happier with him and how he plays, and the leadership he brings to our defense and our team.”

Hout was the state 5A player of the year as a junior in 2006, when he helped Lake City to the state championship and an undefeated season. He committed to Boise State the summer prior to his senior season, and the original plans were for him to redshirt his freshman season as a Bronco in 2008.

But plans changed, and after three games Hout started seeing action on special teams, and on the defensive line, where the need was greater than at linebacker. His playing time increased on defense as the season went on, and he played in 10 games for the Broncos, who were 12-0 before losing to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl.

“I was just thrilled to be here and be part of the team,” Hout recalled of his freshman season. “I was content redshirting those first couple of weeks. It was hell getting up in the morning and working out (and not being able to play), but I was loving it, I definitely liked the class I was in with.”

It was in that TCU game that he had his first — and still, his only — interception, which he returned 62 yards.

“I’ve been looking to do that again — I haven’t been able to hold onto the ball, though,” Hout said with a laugh. “I’ve had a few chances; my fingers are a little beat up over the years from playing defense.”

He played defensive end again as a sophomore — a year overshadowed by the infamous punch from Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount. Before his junior season, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski moved Hout back to linebacker — the position he was recruited to Boise State to play.

“I would have been happy either way,” Hout said of the position switch. “As long as we were winning, I was always happy. I’ve never gotten caught in the “it’s all about me” thing. I was always just happy to help out the team.”

As a junior, he started the first nine games before a broken foot suffered at Idaho ended his season. He was a second-team all-Western Athletic Conference selection. This year, he has started every game at linebacker, and earned honorable mention on the all-Mountain West Conference team.

“He’s coachable, and has continued to improve,” Gregory said. “I think there’s been progress from last year to this year, and from the beginning of the year to now, which is really neat to see — that he’s constantly improving.”

Gregory said Hout has always been good against the run, and this season he heeded Gregory’s advice in the offseason and improved his pass defense.

In his four years with Boise State, the Broncos are 49-3.

“The fans make it pretty special to go here,” Hout said. “Everyone’s bought in to the winning attitude. One of things that makes it special is this group of guys — we all kind of trust each other; we’re kind of a big family. And the fans are part of that family as well.”

When you watch Boise State on the road, it often seems like their fans take over the stadium — of course, it helps that they’re usually winning. On Thursday, it’s possible Boise State will have more fans in the stands than Arizona State does.

And when the opposing team’s fans get fired up when Boise State comes to town — well, the Broncos get fired up as well.

“We kind of have that mentality that it’s all business,” said Hout, who also plays on the punt team, punt return team and kickoff return team. “The bigger the stakes, the better for us. We get to show more people what we’re about, and how we compete ... we certainly like getting everyone’s best shot — we wouldn’t want it any other way as a football player. I think we always bring our own energy with us when we play.”

Petersen, in his sixth season as the Broncos’ head coach, continually says Boise State does not pay attention to what he terms “all the noise” about the BCS and the Broncos’ chances every year of playing in a BCS game.

Certainly the players must talk about it, though. Right?

Wrong.

“It does us no good to think about it — we just tune it out,” Hout said.

Hout is on track to graduate in May in four years with a degree in communications — a pretty good accomplishment for a football player who didn’t redshirt. Taking some summer classes helped, he said.

After graduation, Hout said he wants to get into coaching, perhaps at the college level, and maybe work toward another degree.

What about the NFL?

Hout says he hasn’t paid much attention to that.

The website nfldraftscout.com ranks him 30th out of 104 at inside linebacker, whatever that means.

Gregory said “I think there’s a place for a guy like that” in the NFL, comparing him to former Bronco Winston Venable, now with the Chicago Bears.

“I think they’re very similar type of guys ... not great 40 times and all that stuff, but really good football players,” Gregory said. “And if they do their homework they’ll find that out — that these guys can contribute at that level.”

In any event, Hout said the time has gone by fast in Boise.

“It’s been a great time, and I’ve loved every minute of it,” Hout said.