Iowa commit, Sycamore QB/S Burke Gautcher finds stability

SYCAMORE – There hasn’t been a lot of consistency for Burke Gautcher through his first three seasons at Sycamore.

He was a quarterback on the freshman team during his first high school season. As a sophomore on varsity, he played at wide receiver while pulling double duty at safety, his first real foray onto the defensive side of the ball at any level.

As a junior he moved back to quarterback for the first time and was the Daily Chronicle 2023 Football Player of the Year.

Now heading into his senior year, Gautcher is going to be playing the same two positions for the second year in a row, and that stability is helping him up his game.

“It’s really given me time to just focus on one position and get better at it every day,” said the 6-foot-2 210-pound Iowa commit. “It’s nice already having somewhere to go but it doesn’t change our work here.”

Gautcher committed to the Hawkeyes back in October. He said that next year the program plans on moving him to linebacker.

But for now, the senior is playing the same positions for two years in a row for the first time in his high school career.

“He knows the fits, he knows what to expect,” Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said. “When you have to move around a little bit, even though he’s such a great athlete you feel like you can put him anywhere, and I think we could, but you forget reps are important. He had all those reps last year, 11 games, and now he’s going right back to those positions this year. And hopefully we can play more than that.”

The Spartans went 9-2 last year, the fifth straight postseason they’ve made at least the second round. They’ve made the quarterfinals five times since 2014 and have made the semifinals three times in that stretch, including in 2021 and 2022.

Last year, the Spartans reached the second round, losing 27-21 to Morgan Park.

“There’s always been a high expectation here, that’s how it’s been,” Gautcher said. “For us we have to keep it going, keep winning games, keep stacking up those deep playoff wins like we have been.”

It’s not just positional stability for Gautcher. He committed to Iowa back in October. So not only is he a year more experienced in the ins and out of the positions he’ll be playing this year, but he doesn’t have to worry about the high-pressure recruiting process in the summer between his junior and senior years.

“Last summer I was pretty busy with camps and stuff, but committing in October it’s been really easy kind of chilling and relaxing knowing I’m already committed to a great place,” Gautcher said.

Ryan said he expects not only a big senior year for Gautcher but a productive college career. Gautcher also is a state-qualifying track athlete for the Spartans. He was on the Spartans’ 4x100 relay team and qualified in the long jump as well.

Combine that athleticism with the knowledge Gautcher has picked up from his journey across the field in his high school career, and that will make him a top-level talent for the Hawkeyes.

“He’s become more a student of the game,” Ryan said. “He’s always been a great athlete. He’s got all the attributes you want in an athlete. But now he has an understanding of how things work offensively and defensively. Our level, the next level, the more you know what other people are supposed to be doing, along with what you’re supposed to be doing, the better you’re going to be. It gives you a better chance of being successful.”