USF's Bryce Archie doubles as Bulls quarterback and pitcher

TAMPA - Bryce Archie is living a double life this spring, taking part in two sports for the University of South Florida Bulls.

"When I got the word that I could come out and play baseball, it was on from there," Archie said.

By morning, the USF sophomore is fitted with pads and a helmet as a quarterback on the Bulls football team. But by afternoon, Archie trades his pads for a baseball mitt and his tight spirals for a four-seam fastball.

"It takes a special talent to be able to do two sports in college," said Bulls head baseball coach Billy Mohl.

Growing up, Archie played both football and baseball through the end of high school. Even as one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2022, Archie still wanted to keep his baseball dreams alive in college.

Originally signing with Coastal Carolina out of high school, Archie transferred to USF last spring and put his baseball dreams on hold, once again, to get acclimated to the USF football team.

"I really, honestly, didn't know if I was going to get to play baseball again," Archie admits.

But after the Bulls' football season came to an end, Archie couldn't help but remind head coach Alex Golesh that baseball season was just around the corner.

"For him, football had always come first, but baseball was always in the conversation," said Golesh. "He was throwing 96 MPH in high school, so I knew this was real for him."

With the blessings of both Golesh and Mohl, Archie was free to join the baseball team as a pitcher.

"I didn't know what to expect," admits Mohl. "He hadn't pitched competitively in a couple of years and has been playing football for the last year and a half. When we first faced live hitters, it was like, 'Okay! We've got something to work with here.'"

Earning his way into the Bulls bullpen, Archie now splits his time between spring football practice in the morning and baseball practice and games in the afternoons and evenings. But sometimes, the two positions Archie now plays can begin to blur together.

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"I definitely feel sometimes that when I'm trying to get the ball out quicker, I end up throwing my slider with a football. It just happens sometimes," joked Archie.

It is a slider, along with a fastball that can reach the upper 90s on the radar gun, that has this quarterback tackling life on the mound.

"A lot of (his talent) is God-given," said Mohl. "He is a special athlete. I can't wait to see what his future holds because guys like that don't grow on trees."

Pitching in seven games so far with the Bulls, Archie is a special talent who has no problem taking snaps and painting the corner of the strike zone on the same day.

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