Bryce Steele Named 2025 College Football Comeback Player of the Year After Inspiring Return to the Field
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - There are stories in college football that go beyond the box score - stories that remind us what perseverance really looks like. Bryce Steele’s is one of them.
The Boston College linebacker has been named one of three recipients of the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year Award, an honor presented annually by College Sports Communicators in partnership with the Associated Press and the Fiesta Bowl. Steele becomes the first Eagle in program history to receive the award - and it’s easy to see why.
Steele’s journey back to the field has been anything but linear. The Raleigh, North Carolina native was first diagnosed with cancer in 2019, during his junior year of high school.
The diagnosis sidelined him for the season, but it didn’t sideline his future. Boston College stuck by him, and Steele committed to the program with the kind of determination that would define his career.
As a true freshman in 2021, Steele saw action in 11 games, including one start. But even that season came with its own challenge - doctors found cancerous cells during routine scans following the year.
He underwent surgery in the offseason and, remarkably, returned to the field just weeks later. The same scenario played out after the 2022 season.
Another surgery. Another comeback.
Then came 2023 - the toughest chapter yet. The cancer returned more aggressively, and this time it forced Steele to the sidelines for the entire season as he underwent surgery and chemotherapy.
But once again, he fought back. In 2024, he returned to action, appearing in four games and making his presence felt with a season-high five tackles in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl against Nebraska.
This season, in his fifth year at Chestnut Hill, Steele played in 11 games and earned two starts. He totaled 16 tackles, including a career-best seven against California on September 27. He also recorded a fumble recovery, a quarterback hit, and a pass breakup - solid numbers, sure, but the real story is the resilience behind them.
His courage hasn’t gone unnoticed. Earlier this month, Steele was honored with the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award, given annually to the most courageous player in the conference. He was also a mid-season nominee for the Capital One Orange Bowl Courage Award.
Since its inception in 2018, the Comeback Player of the Year Award has celebrated college football players who overcome serious adversity - whether it’s injury, illness, or other off-the-field challenges. Each year, a panel of Associated Press college football writers and sports information directors selects three honorees. This year, Steele stands among them.
He’ll be recognized at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on January 8, 2026, in Glendale, Arizona - a fitting stage for a player whose story has inspired not just his teammates, but the college football world at large.
Bryce Steele didn’t just come back. He came back stronger.