Austin Bortle is entering his seventh season as a member of the Lindenwood football staff in 2015. Bortle is in his fifth year as a full-time assistant after serving as a graduate assistant for his first two seasons. He was promoted in 2015 to Assistant Head Coach. He will also coach the defensive line for the third straight season and also serve as the team’s director of recruiting.
Last season, Bortle helped coach two defensive lineman to all-conference honors in Chaz Fulton and Skyler Suggs. Suggs finished eighth in the MIAA in sacks and 11th in tackles for loss. The defensive line accounted for 14.5 sacks on the season, which was over 60 percent of the team’s total.
In 2013, Bortle helped coach defensive end Thomas Stubbs to honorable mention all-MIAA honors. Stubbs led the team in tackles and sacks, and was fifth overall in tackles. On the other side, Xavier Warren started most games and had 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
In his first season coaching the defensive ends in 2012, he led a position which helped Lindenwood collect 29 sacks and 85 tackles for loss. Joe Day led Lindenwood with 11.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team-high with 6.0 sacks. Cody Reider also had 6.0 sacks and Sean Gracy was tied for second on the team with 11.0 tackles for loss.
In his first three seasons as a coach, Bortle coached the wide receivers during a three-year period in which they put up huge numbers. In 2011, he coached Andrew Helmick who set school single-season records for receiving yards per game and touchdown catches. In all, Lindenwood caught 193 passes for 23 touchdowns and an average of 235.7 receiving yards a game.
In 2010, the Lions had three receivers catch over 500 total yards. Two of the receivers had over 800 yards. The receivers also caught 42 touchdown passes. In 2009, Lindenwood was even more balanced with five receivers having over 400 yards on the season. Those five players caught 223 passes for 3,343 yards and 34 touchdowns. The receivers played a big role in Lindenwood advancing to the NAIA National Championship game.
Bortle played his college football at Lindenwood and was a very successful offensive weapon. In his final season as a Lion he was named to the honorable mention All-HAAC squad. During his time between the lines, Bortle caught 57 passes for 667 yards and seven touchdowns. He also compiled 18 rushing attempts for 91 yards.
Bortle played his high school football at St. Charles High School and was an all-conference performer.
Bortle graduated from Lindenwood with his bachelor’s degree in 2008 and his master’s in 2010.
