Bryce DeFalco eager, anxious to get back on the gridiron

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

You never know what the opportunity will present itself.
For Bowling Green running back Bryce DeFalco, his chance might be coming sooner rather than later as the start of football season nears.
DeFalco, who missed his freshman season because of a torn meniscus, is ready for the season to begin in just under a month.
The Eastwood alum is part of a talented group of Falcon running backs, something BG coach Scot Loeffler talked about.
“We’ve got a really deep running back room,” said Loeffler. “A couple of young guys in particular have the chance to contribute this year, but we’ll see when we get the pads on if they can hold onto the ball."
DeFalco talked about what he learned when he was in high school playing for the Eagles.
“One thing Eastwood taught me is to have a great work ethic,” he said. “When it’s hard, do it for the guy to your left. You do your one out of 11.”
DeFalco, a redshirt freshman, tries to keep it simple.
“Every day, we try to get a little better,” he said. “It’s important to come (to practice) with a fresh attitude,” he said.
In each of the last three seasons, the Falcons have steadily improved, and they were picked to finish third – tied with Northern Illinois – in the Mid-American Conference.
BG last won the MAC in 2015.
One of the running backs that was expected to see his share of action this season was PaSean Wimberly, a Toledo native, who is out for the year. And Terion Stewart, who is from Sandusky, carried the ball 125 times for 762 yards and eight touchdowns last year, but missed a good deal of time with injuries.
As a senior in high school, DeFalco rushed 147 times for 1,052 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also played on defense at linebacker and defensive end. Along with All-Ohio quarterback Case Boos, he led the Eagles to 12 wins, a Northern Buckeye Conference title and an appearance in the Division V regional semifinals.
Former Eastwood coach Craig Rutherford, who recently took over at Otsego, talked about what DeFalco, one of the running backs in the Wing-T offense the team employed, brought to the table.
“He did everything that we needed from the running-back position. He was a willing blocker, caught the ball out of the backfield and carried out the fakes really well.
He’s incredibly explosive, (and) when he got the ball in his hands, he had the ability to score,” said Rutherford. “In the three years he started at running back, he was always a hard worker, but by his senior year, the biggest difference is he was really explosive. In his senior year, we asked him to play a lot more on defense. He always did what was needed for the team, and that made a big difference for us. He played defensive end for us as a senior because we were lacking some depth on the defensive line. There were some games where he was tired at the end (because) he gave it everything he had.”
DeFalco actually broke his ankle during his junior season, but it wasn’t known until the end of the season.
Rutherford talked about DeFalco’s chances of seeing action with the Falcons.
“The thing about college football is there’s so much movement, more than ever. So somebody can just hang in there for a few years, and a lot of the time, just because they know the system and have been around longer than anyone else, there are ways for them to get on the field,” said Rutherford. “(Coaches) are always looking for tough guys to be on special teams. Bryce played all sorts of special teams for us.
“There’s a good example of a guy that played at Eastwood in Dalton Andrews, who tore his ACL in the state title game (in 2017). He went to Toledo, was a walk-on on the defensive line, was moved to center, battled injuries and toward the end of his career, became a tight end. He caught a few touchdown passes. That’s just an example of a guy hanging around (and getting an opportunity). Being in a college weight-lifting program for three to five years, you’re going to be physically ready.”