In the face of tragedy, Boise State’s Dylan Riley is pursuing a shared dream
Dylan Riley carries his dad with him wherever he goes.
Boise State football’s high-flying and speedy sophomore running back has wowed fans in 2025, emerging as the backfield guy who’s a home-run threat on nearly every carry. His latest heroics came Saturday night, when he rushed for a career-high 201 yards and a touchdown to help BSU defeat UNLV 56-31 at Albertsons Stadium.
Riley now has 695 yards rushing and seven total touchdowns this season, leading the Broncos in both categories.
His latest TD, a 49-yard run against UNLV, ended with Riley “flying” into the end zone with his arms spread wide and a bright-white smile on his face.
On the outside, you might think everything was going great in Riley’s life. But behind the scenes, the 19-year-old has gone through one of life’s worst situations.
Over the summer, Riley’s father, Willie, suddenly died.
“I’ve got so much respect for Dylan Riley. My dad’s sitting right here,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said Saturday, pointing over to his father, who was decked out in Broncos gear and in attendance for the postgame press conference.
“I don’t know what that’s like, and can’t imagine what that’s like.”
Danielson’s comments came minutes after Riley fielded questions about his father with an openness and smile on his face that showed a lot of maturity, considering the situation.
“I’ve had my hard times,” Riley said. “But being here with my brothers, family, and everything like that. ... Obviously it’s in the back of my head, but I tend to forget about it and go to practice and do my thing, work on my craft, because I know he wouldn’t want me to be thinking about him 24/7.”
There was an outpouring of love for Riley from his teammates after his father’s passing. He said fellow Broncos sent him floods of text messages, letters and even words of comfort for his mother, Erika.
“I really respect these guys, and I love my team for that,” Riley said. “It just makes me want to push harder for them, for anything, regardless of whether it’s on the field or off the field.”
There are a few ways that Riley keeps his dad with him at all times.
Chief among those is a large tattoo on his back that honors Willie. He also wrote a message about his dad on his shirt during the first few games of the season, and still has a picture of his father as his phone background.
The Moreno Valley, California, native didn’t get much of a chance to make an impact in his freshman season, carrying the ball just 22 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns while the Broncos relied on Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who was picked sixth overall in the NFL Draft.
This season didn’t start with a bang, either. Riley had seven carries for 20 yards in the opening loss at South Florida. The next two weeks, he had 100-yard games and five touchdowns, and now he has gotten a chance to shine as the team’s leading rusher.
It has put him on a path to fulfill a promise he made to his father.
“My dad, he got me here in the first place,” Riley said. “So my job is to keep fulfilling the promise that he gave me, and that I gave him, (which) is to make it to the (NFL).”
