Bryce Boettcher flies down the field, lowers his head and lays a hit on Hawaii’s kick returner. A collective “Oof!” is heard from the fans at Autzen Stadium.
Boettcher had just laid a guy out.
“I take a lot of pride in special teams,” Boettcher said after the game. “Just running down fast, I had been meaning to make a play like that for some time now.”
Boettcher likened the collision to another familiar experience of his — hitting a baseball.
“It’s kinda like when you hit a homerun,” Boettcher said. “When you square it up on the barrel, and you don’t feel anything.”
It’s a connection he would certainly know a lot about. When he isn’t delivering bone-crushing hits and forcing fumbles, Boettcher is roaming the outfield at PK Park for the Oregon baseball team.
An alumnus of South Eugene High School, Boettcher grew up coming to Ducks games with his family. He always imagined he’d be flying down whatever field he was playing on dressed in green and yellow. In the fall of 2019, Boettcher’s dreams became reality: the University of Oregon offered him a baseball scholarship.
Although he was a three-sport athlete in high school, playing football at UO wasn’t on Boettcher’s mind until a meeting with Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski. It was then that football truly became a facet of Boettcher’s college career.
“He [Wasikowski] allowed me to set up a meeting with coach [Dan] Lanning,” Boettcher said in an interview with 247sports. “Coach Lanning was very open to the idea. So, he allowed me to get over there during the summer and do workouts with the team. That was like my tryout period. It went well, and they saw something in me and invited me to fall camp.”
Boettcher made the football team as a walk-on in 2022, but in a limited role. He filled in at defensive back late in games as well as on special teams.
Growing up so close to campus, playing football at Autzen Stadium has always been special for Boettcher. “My family had season tickets for the Ducks, so every time I run out of the tunnel at Autzen, I check that spot and get chills remembering when I was sitting up there,” Boettcher said in an interview with driftersbaseball.com “It is unbelievable.”
Per the suggestion of his coaches, Boettcher made the transition from defensive back to middle linebacker this offseason. Boettcher’s day-to-day regimen has included an extensive diet and weight training program.
“It’s just been a lot of eating, four or five meals a day,” Boettcher said. “And a lot of work in the weight room.”
Leading up to Week 1, Boettcher found out his hard work had paid off — he would be getting the start against Portland State.
Against the Vikings, Boettcher made his presence known by collecting four total tackles as well as a fumble recovery in Oregon’s 81-7 victory.
“Obviously, it was surreal, but at the same time I knew that was one of my goals, so I knew it was attainable,” Boettcher said. “I believed in myself so it wasn’t that much of a surprise.”
Playing so close to home, Boettcher realizes the impact his play could have in his community. “Those kids in Eugene, who want to be at this level and want to do it, a lot of times don’t get the opportunities,” Boettcher said in a post game interview following Oregon’s win over the Vikings. “I was a double walk-on here at Oregon, and I’m doing it and trying to show everyone that it’s possible.”
In 2022, Boettcher was one of only 15 football/baseball dual-sport athletes in the FBS, and the only one in the Pac-12. On April 29, 2023, Boettcher played in the annual spring football game and later played in a conference baseball victory against Arizona State.
“I didn’t think I would ever be doing that, playing in the spring game and a baseball game on the same day,” Boettcher said after the Oregon baseball win. “This has been unbelievable, obviously a dream come true and hard to put into words.”
Lanning was equally as impressed by Boettcher’s act. “Talk about impressive people,” Lanning said after the spring game. “I hope we have a camera following you today, Bryce.”
That day in Eugene, Boettcher flew all around both fields he appeared on. He totaled three tackles and two pass breakups before coming in as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning of the Ducks’ victory.
Boettcher’s effort was commended by football teammate Trikweze Bridges. “I just want to salute him for what he’s doing,” Bridges said after the game. “If we were doing most valuable player of the game today, I’d give it to Bryce.”
Boettcher’s role has only grown in 2023. Starting in all four of Oregon’s games thus far at middle linebacker, Boettcher has totaled 16 total tackles for the Ducks.
“I love Bryce. I mean he’s earned every opportunity he’s gotten, nothing has been handed to that guy,” Lanning said. “He had a long track to go to get his way, to where he was on the field and he’s earned that, he’s done a great job.”
Despite starting the 2023 baseball season filling in as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement, Boettchers playing time increased as the season went on. His breakout moment came in the form of a walk-off single that capped off a Ducks’ sweep of rival Oregon State. He also batted second and started in center field during all three of Oregon’s super-regional games against Oral Roberts.
Boettcher isn’t worried that his body transformation — Boettcher has put on significant muscle-weight during the offseason — will have an effect on his speed on the baseball diamond. “Originally when I made the transition to linebacker, I thought it would. By putting on the weight, actually I’ve gotten faster,” Boettcher said. “I’ve been hitting in the cages and the ball seems to be coming off the bat faster.”
Bryce Boettcher plays fast, no matter what field he’s on.
When football season ends, Boettcher fully intends to be back on the diamond. “Hopefully they’ll let me wear my pads out in center field, too.”
