Ben Bartch (born July 22, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the Saint John's Johnnies and was selected in the fourth round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Early life

Bartch grew up in

McMinnville, Oregon McMinnville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Yamhill County, Oregon, Yamhill County, Oregon, United States at the base of the Oregon Coast Range. The city is named after McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States cens ...

, and attended Blanchet Catholic School where he played receiver,

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

, and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. Although he was tall, Bartch was also very skinny and was primarily a backup receiver for Blanchet, not yet discovered for his blocking abilities; as a senior, Bartch was billed at 195 pounds and only a recorded a handful of receptions and tackles. He was not recruited after high school and chose to play at Saint John's University, a

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

program. He was also a 4-year letterer in basketball at Blanchet.

College career

Bartch began his collegiate career playing tight end. Entering Saint John's, Bartch was billed at 220 pounds, appearing in one game as a freshman. As a sophomore, Bartch was the team's third-string tight end, catching four passes for 43 yards and one touchdown, mostly contributing to

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. His coaches noticed his blocking ability, with one calling it "a hidden natural-born talent" and suggested he move to the offensive line going into his junior season. In order to gain weight, Bartch consumed a protein shake daily consisting of 7 scrambled eggs, a tub of cottage cheese, quick grits, peanut butter, bananas, and

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

, growing from 240 pounds to 275 in just the summer. He eventually reached 308 pounds with this method. Bartch became the Johnnies starting left tackle and was named second-team All-

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(MIAC) and to the

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AFCA Good Works Team at the end of the season. As a senior, Bartch was named first-team All-MIAC and a consensus first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by D3Football.com. Considered a prospect in the

, Bartch was invited to participate in the 2020 Senior Bowl. A rival coach wrote that Ben Bartch was "the best D3 player I had ever seen" and that he was "by far the best player on that team" despite playing alongside two

Power Five The power conferences are the most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, the highest level o ...

transfers at Saint John's, including a quarterback from

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. Bartch also competed on Saint John's track and field team in

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

events.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Bartch was selected in the fourth round of the

by the

. He became the first Saint John's player to be drafted since 1974 and the first player to be drafted from any Division III program since the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

selected

Ali Marpet Alexander "Ali" Marpet (; born April 17, 1993) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Marpet played college football for the ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. Bartch made his NFL debut on September 13, 2020, in the season opener against the

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, playing five snaps on special teams. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the Jaguars on December 15, 2020, and activated on January 5, 2021. Bartch entered the 2022 season as the Jaguars starting left guard. He suffered a dislocated knee in Week 5 and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on October 11, 2022. Bartch returned as the starting left guard in 2023, but was benched in Week 4. He was waived on October 31, 2023, after the Jaguars traded for Ezra Cleveland. On November 3, Bartch was re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

San Francisco 49ers

On November 21, 2023, Bartch was signed by the

to their active roster off of the Jaguars' practice squad. On December 12, 2024, Bartch was placed on injured reserve. On February 24, 2025, Bartch signed a one-year contract extension with the 49ers.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio

Saint John's Johnnies bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartch, Ben 1998 births American football offensive tackles Jacksonville Jaguars players San Francisco 49ers players Living people Players of American football from Oregon Saint John's Johnnies football players Sportspeople from McMinnville, Oregon American male shot putters American male discus throwers Saint John's Johnnies men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Oregon 21st-century American sportsmen