Bryce Boettcher is a linebacker and 2026 NFL Draft prospect who played his entire career with the Oregon Ducks. A native of Eugene, Oregon, Boettcher attended South Eugene High School and was rated a three-star dual-threat quarterback prospect in the 2020 class before arriving at Oregon initially as a baseball player. He spent his first two years on the diamond as a center fielder before joining the football program as a walk-on in 2022 after head coach Dan Lanning held an open tryout, transitioning from safety to inside linebacker in 2023. He broke out in 2024 as Oregon's leading tackler with 94 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, two sacks, and an interception, earning the Burlsworth Trophy as the nation's outstanding walk-on player, the first Duck to receive the honor. In his final 2025 season he again led the Ducks with 136 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two forced fumbles, and an interception as Oregon reached the College Football Playoff, earning an invitation to the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl. Notably, he was also selected by the Houston Astros in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB Draft as a center fielder before choosing to return for a final football season.
Standing 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds, Boettcher is known for excellent instincts developed from his background as a defensive back, reliable tackling, solid zone coverage awareness, and an extremely high motor that has defined his walk-on-to-team-captain arc at Oregon. NFL evaluators project him as a developmental linebacker with immediate special teams value, whose coverage skills, football intelligence, and unique multi-sport athletic background give him a path to a roster spot and rotational defensive role at the next level.
