The University of Utah is getting their guy - Chris Burgess is coming home. The Runnin’ Utes have hired the former Duke and Utah standout to fill the assistant spot vacated by Eric Peterson after he was named Head Coach at South Dakota.

The offer, according to multiple UteNation sources, was signed Tuesday night and the announcement is pending. The Salt Lake Tribune’s Josh Newman and Kevin Reynolds, first went public with the news on Wednesday morning, while it was mentioned in our Inside Ute Nation community message board, Tuesday night.

The soon-to-be former BYU assistant was the early front runner for the role, as it seemed he fit Utah’s needs to a “T.” During his time at Utah Valley University and BYU, Burgess has become well-respected as a big man coach, skill developer, and ace recruiter. As a Utah student assistant from 2013-14, Burgess received praise throughout the program for the work he was able to do with Utah’s players.

As a senior at Woodbridge HS, Burgess was the no. 1 recruit in the country and a McDonald’s High School All-American. He famously committed to Duke over BYU at the time, played two years before a LDS Mission, then transferred to play for Rick Majerus at Utah. After his time at Utah, Burgess played professionally for 11 years overseas.

During his time at BYU, Burgess beat Utah out for a fair share of recruits, most notably Caleb Lohner and Collin Chandler. Burgess also has deep ties to Wasatch Academy, a prep school in Utah which has produced a large volume of top-rated recruits.

Assistant coaching vacancies typically come with little fanfare, but this was an important role for Smith to get right. Burgess had interviewed for an assistant role last season before Smith decided to turn elsewhere, partly due to lack of money left for hiring assistants at the time.

Key factors in Burgess’s decision were his loyalty to his alma mater and desire to return home. Additionally, his daughter KJ signed with the Utah volleyball team, and now he’ll easily be able to get to all of her games with just a short walk to the arena.

With the crucial hire set to be announced any time now, the Runnin’ Utes now turn their attention to the recruiting trail, as there’s a month left to find some impact players and program-changers during the spring signing period.