Bryce Boettcher looks like something out of the 1980s, with his hard-nosed style of play, gritty mentality and neck pad sticking out behind his helmet. 

He flies down the field with vigor, the 6-foot-2 South Eugene High School graduate middle linebacker always in the right spot at the right time en route to 69 total tackles and five tackles for loss on the season. 

“I love Bryce Boettcher,” Dan Lanning said after Boettcher’s eleven-tackle game against Oregon State. “I wish I had a million Bryce Boettchers.”

“This guy, the way he works, what you guys see in the game is what I see every single day in practice. Sometimes he hits one of our own players, and I’ve got to make him go run around the field goal post. It’s good when you’re playing another team because you’ve got that guy on your side,” Lanning continued.

The thing is, Lanning might not have a million Boettchers on his squad, but in a way, there are two Bryce Boettchers in the Oregon athletics stratosphere. 

Boettcher’s rise started as somewhat of a local story, with the 22-year-old playing minimally for both the baseball team and football team amidst his development. 

However, after filling in mostly as a pinch-hitter in years prior, the centerfielder starred throughout his senior season. Boettcher hit .276 with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a team-high 46 runs scored while being named to the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team as an outfielder. His impressive performance earned him a selection in the 13th round by the Houston Astros.

However, as he’s started every game for the Ducks on the gridiron this year, it’s fair to question just how far his two-sport abilities might take him. 

Boettcher at the very least will likely warrant late-round NFL Draft talk or undrafted free agency discussion amongst NFL teams. 

Other past NFL draft picks with similar makeup include Dee Winters (2023 6th round pick from the San Francisco 49ers who added 79 total tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss in his senior year at Texas Christian University) and Amari Burney (2023 6th round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders who added 79 total tackles and nine tackles for loss his senior season at University of Florida.)

However, none of those above players have the seemingly limitless potential that Boettcher does — committing to one sport only further boosts his possibilities of succeeding at the next level. 

With the NFL Draft taking place in late April, there are no seven-round mock drafts readily available to assess Boettcher’s full draft stock. Boettcher has signed with the Astros and is expected to join the team for workouts whenever the Ducks’ season concludes. However, for now, fans can only speculate as to how far the Ducks’ two-way star can go — regardless of the sport he’s playing. 

“I compared it to baseball a little bit,” Boettcher said after the Ducks comeback win over Wisconsin. “Hitting comes and goes, offense comes and goes. When you’re out on the defensive side of the ball, if you’re present and bring a good mentality, that could be as consistent as you want it to be. If you look at any championship team, their defense is always lights out.”

For now, he will be using his experience as one of the longest-tenured Ducks of any sport to help guide the football team to the top.