'A dream come true': South Eugene's Bryce Boettcher earns career start for Oregon football
South Eugene High School alum Bryce Boettcher was already living a dream when he signed to play with the Oregon baseball team and hustled on to PK Park for the first time in 2021.
But in 2022, Boettcher chose to pursue another dream, while not giving up on baseball, by forfeiting his scholarship to become a two-sport athlete and a double walk-on, turning out for the football team.
The Eugene-native took the field at Autzen Stadium during the 2022 season over 91 snaps on special teams and operated mostly as a safety.
Saturday afternoon against Portland State, Boettcher accomplished another one of his goals, earning his first career start at inside linebacker after a complete body transformation.
The junior picked up four tackles – doubling his total from 2022 – and jumped on a fumble in the second quarter of an 81-7 win for good measure.
“It’s been amazing,” Boettcher said. “It has been a dream come true. At the same time, you want to stop and smell the roses but also you have to be hungry. There’s still a lot of work to be done this season and a lot of team goals and personal goals I need to achieve, and we need to achieve. But it’s definitely a dream come true.”
On his first career fumble recovery, with the crowd roaring with anticipation after the ball hit the ground, Boettcher originally had bigger plans for the loose ball.
“I saw it on the ground and my original reaction was to try and scoop and score it,” he said. “And then in the back of my mind I realized I was probably running too fast, so I was just going to jump on it and give it back to our offense and let them take care of the rest.”
And the offense did, with Jordan James capping a four-play drive with a short touchdown run to give the Ducks a 36-7 lead early in the second quarter.
The moment, and the start, was another dream fulfilled for the Eugene kid who dreamed of playing at both PK Park and Autzen Stadium.
'I’m playing for my hometown and the team I grew up watching'
A three-sport letterwinner at South Eugene, Boettcher was the top-ranked shortstop in the state coming out of high school, and a three-star prospect on the gridiron as a top-100 dual threat quarterback in the country and a top-25 recruit in Oregon.
With his path to playing baseball in college a little clearer, Boettcher opted to take a scholarship and signed with the Ducks’ baseball team out of high school and played in 38 games as a freshman on the diamond.
After a year focusing on baseball, Boettcher earned a tryout for football. He took it without hesitation, making his debut against Georgia last season.
As soon as he took the field for the Ducks football team, his scholarship with the baseball team was forfeited.
Now a double walk-on, Boettcher helped the baseball team to a Super Regional appearance, reaching base at a .385 clip and serving as a utility player and making 15 starts in the outfield. He played in the Oregon football spring game and an Oregon baseball game in the same day last spring.
Boettcher said he wouldn’t change anything about his path from South Eugene.
“Everyone has dreams and aspirations, and that was my dream,” he said. “That was one of them. I believed in myself all the way. Some people may not have, but at the end of the day if you believe in yourself, good things happen.
“I’m playing for my hometown and the team I grew up watching, so it was well worth the sacrifice. If they need me to run through a wall or anything else, I’m willing to lay my life on the line to do it. I care that much about this university and program.”
A commitment to getting into football shape
Boettcher’s work to gain weight and get into football shape over the last two seasons and his approach during fall camp helped him earn the start, said head coach Dan Lanning.
“Bryce has been really productive through our fall scrimmages and practices,” Lanning said. “He’s a guy that loves Oregon, it means something to him stepping on that field. I think you see that in the way that he plays. He’s earned that right, he’s earned that opportunity, but he has to battle for it every day.”
As of this fall, Boettcher still plans on playing both football and baseball. That said, the added weight will only help him as a baseball player this spring as the Ducks look to build on an incredibly successful 2023 season.
All the while, he’ll continue to represent for South Eugene and local kids with dreams of playing at Oregon.
“That’s a big part is my why, a big part is my family,” Boettcher said. “And those kids in Eugene, that want to be at this level and want to do it, a lot of times you don’t get those opportunities. I was a double walk-on here at Oregon and I’m doing it, and am trying to show everyone it’s possible. If you put the work in and show a desire of wanting to do it, it’s possible.”
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, women's basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: South Eugene’s Bryce Boettcher living his dream as a two-sport Duck
