1/11/2012 football Edit

Brice Butler to San Diego State

Ryan Abraham

USCFootball.com Publisher

Brice Butler, the former four-star receiver from Norcross (Ga.), will forgo his final year of eligibility at USC and transfer to San Diego State. Butler already has his degree and will be able play for the Aztecs immediately next fall as a graduate student.

Butler came to USC in the class of 2008 ranked as the No. 79 overall prospect according to Rivals.com.

After redshirting in 2008, Butler caught 20 passes for 292 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2009 as a redshirt freshman. Then in 2010 Butler had nine catches for 112 yards and one touchdown.

With his production down, Butler explored the possibilities of transferring in the spring of 2011 but ultimately came back for his redshirt junior season last fall. He caught 12 passes for 150 yards in 2011 working behind sophomore Robert Woods and freshman Marqise Lee.

Butler has NFL aspirations and is looking for more opportunities and more videotape at San Diego State. It was a difficult decision to leave his teammates, he said Wednesday, but at the end of the day, Butler said he had to do what was right for his situation.

"It is always tough when you have been somewhere for four years and you have great relationships with people and the whole program," Butler said. "This was really about business and what I could do for my last year. I am going to miss my guys, but at the end of the day, it is the right decision for me."

Butler was given his release from USC last month and after taking a trip to visit Kansas, Butler finally settled on becoming an Aztec.

"I liked everything about it," Butler said. "I liked the staff at San Diego State and as far as the team and everything is concerned, the situation there was better for me for that one year I have. I only have that one year, I don't have years."

As a graduate student, Butler will be working on his master's degree at SDSU.

"I am an USC alum," Butler said proudly. "I have to do a graduate program but I have to figure out which one I want to do. I think I am going to do something like communications or broadcast journalism or what I did at USC, some type of real estate.

"The rule is not that you do a program that USC doesn't have, that isn't it," Butler said. "There are no restrictions on the program I can take."

Butler's father, Bobby Butler, was an All-American cornerback at Florida State and played 12 years in the NFL.

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Kyle Prater also announced he would be transferring out of the program this week, leaving the Trojans with just four scholarship receivers on the roster.

You can watch Brice Butler as a guest on our Ustream show from July, 2011 talking about his decision to come back and play for the Trojans.

Stay tuned to USCFootball.com for more updates as the Trojans get ready for National Letter of Intent Day.