He played for the Boise State Broncos. A former walk-on, he became the Broncos' starting kicker and punter. He garnered second-team All-WAC honors in 2007 and was Boise State's co-Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008. In the
2010 Fiesta Bowl, Brotzman threw a fourth-down pass out of punt formation that led to the Broncos' winning touchdown. Brotzman gained national media attention when he missed two late-game field goals in the November 26, 2010 game versus the
Nevada Wolf Pack. The first one, a 26-yarder at the end of regulation, would have sealed a victory for the Broncos as time ran out. The second failed attempt would have put the Broncos ahead in overtime, and was a 29-yard try. Nevada went on to win the game 34–31, dealing Boise State its first defeat of the 2010 season. Boise State coach
Chris Petersen refused to directly blame the loss on Brotzman, stating that "one play can win a game but one play can't lose it. There's a lot of plays to be made that we didn't make for whatever reason." Meanwhile, Nevada's coach,
Chris Ault characterized his win as the greatest in the program's history. After the game, over 45,000 Broncos fans showed their support for Brotzman on
Facebook. However, he was also the recipient of death threats and hate-mail from angered Boise State fans. He graduated with the record for the most points in NCAA history by a Division I kicker.* ==Professional career==