Editor’s note: This article is part of our Freaks List series, which chronicles the strongest, fastest and most physical players in college football.
Bryce Boettcher believed five years ago that he had given up football.
A standout quarterback and linebacker at South Eugene High, he picked baseball in college over the sport that came more naturally to him. Boettcher recalls a spring afternoon early in his time at Oregon, walking out of the Hatfield Dowlin Complex that houses the Ducks’ football headquarters. He had grabbed lunch and passed by a football practice. What he saw — the size of the players and how fast they moved — justified to him the choice he made.
But after two seasons with Oregon on the baseball diamond, Boettcher had yet to find his groove. He reconsidered football. And three years after a change of heart, he’s now the most experienced linebacker on Dan Lanning’s squad as the sixth-ranked Ducks prepare to host Oklahoma State on Saturday at Autzen Stadium.
Boettcher has added 40 pounds since those days at South Eugene. He holds hope that he’ll play baseball and football professionally after this year.
Yes. Both sports.
“That’s something I would love to do,” Boettcher said.
He has a chance.
The Houston Astros selected him in the 13th round of the MLB Draft in July 2024 after he broke out with a .276 batting average and 12 home runs and started 54 games in center field during a fourth season of baseball at Oregon. The Astros paid him a $150,000 bonus to sign and agreed to let him return with Oregon for his third season of college football.
Then Boettcher broke out in football too. In the fall of 2024, he started 13 games at inside linebacker, earning second-team All-Big Ten recognition. He won the Burlsworth Trophy as the most outstanding player nationally who began his football career as a walk-on.
“He’s been a lifeblood of this program,” Lanning said. “He’s the heartbeat in a lot of ways. He’s a guy that’s excited for practice. When he steps on the field, it means something to him.”
Bryce Boettcher started 82 baseball games for Oregon. (Ben Lonergan / The Register-Guard / USA Today Network)
In January, after Ohio State beat Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl — the Ducks’ only loss in 14 games — Boettcher learned that his waiver for a fourth and final season of football eligibility was granted by the NCAA. The Astros again agreed to let him continue to chase the football dream.
After this season, he plans to report for spring training in Florida. That is, unless he’s prepping for the NFL Draft, which is plausible after he led Oregon with 94 tackles a year ago.
So at 6 feet 2 and 232 pounds, is he a better prospect in football than in baseball? Don’t ask Boettcher.
“A lot goes into that process,” he said.
Bryce Boettcher at Oregon
SeasonBaseball gamesHitsFootball gamesTackles
2020-21
38
5
0
0
2021-22
43
4
0
0
2022-23
51
10
12
2
2023-24
56
53
14
37
2024-25
0
0
14
94
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Boettcher No. 5 among senior linebackers in his preseason draft rankings. If he’s drafted in football, he said, even before trying to continue with both sports, he’d have to consider if he favored one over the other.
“They’re so very different,” he said. “I love both of them for different reasons.”
Boettcher loves the physicality and free-flowing nature of football. Baseball appeals to him because of the extended time in competitive environments with teammates, though he said he had to “work way harder” at baseball.
Boettcher tried out for Oregon football in 2022 with the encouragement of Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski. Lanning had just arrived in Eugene from Georgia, where he was the defensive coordinator. When Boettcher got an invite from the coach to join the Ducks in football, he had to surrender his baseball scholarship.
He played special teams in that fall of 2022. In 2023, his ascent began. By adding size, Boettcher moved from safety to linebacker. He displayed a readiness in an August scrimmage to start on defense, so Lanning awarded him a football scholarship.
“He’s prideful to wear the Oregon ‘O,’” Lanning said. “It means a lot.”
Boettcher survived on limited resources as a dual-sport walk-on for a full year. But he quickly moved on, without understanding the ramifications amid enhanced financial opportunities at Oregon in the era of name, image and likeness payments.
“There’s a lot more money to be made than just (with) a scholarship at times,” he said, “and a lot more playing time and stuff that I wanted. It was a dream come true. It was amazing, but I knew I had a lot more work to do.”
Now he’s reaping the rewards at 23.
“Props to Bryce for being a great human,” Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq said, “but also for doing the things to set the examples for other guys.”
Boettcher had an opportunity out of high school in baseball with other programs, including powerhouse Oregon State. He could have left Eugene to play pro baseball before and after the football season in 2024. Each time, he chose Oregon.
“I always wonder why more people don’t stay home and play for the team they grew up watching,” he said.
Without the structure of a baseball team, Boettcher still gets into the batting cages to swing, he said. He stays sharp and watches the sport closely. He said he believes he could regain his edge in baseball.
The feel of football came back for him fast after a two-year hiatus.
“Once I put the pads on, my instincts came back,” he said.
He plays football with a heightened sense of competitiveness, in part because of his identity as a former walk-on. Of that spring practice he saw years ago after a lunch on campus, Boettcher said his perspective has flipped.
“It’s about more than size and speed,” he said. “It’s really about instincts and want-to.”
Now in his eighth season over six academic years in two sports, Boettcher has proven that his desire to compete at Oregon is nearly unmatched.
(Top photo: Jevone Moore / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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