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    • In a year of great change, Bruener has been the most resilient of the Huskies
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    In a year of great change, Bruener has been the most resilient of the Huskies

    Sakege Posted on

    For everything that has happened to the University of Washington football team in the last 11 months (playing for a national championship and seeing the program upended by a coaching change and an exodus from transfer portals), Carson Bruener has been the most resistant and reliable. .

    As his Husky career reaches its final three scheduled outings and possibly a bowl game in December, the 6-foot-2, 226-pound senior linebacker has seized the moment to show everyone how good he is and quite possibly which it was. Very underutilized by Kalen DeBoer’s deceased coaching staff.

    On Saturday night, Bruener delivered the game of his college football career in a 26-21 victory over USC with 12 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 pass deflections at Husky Stadium, a performance worthy of being named Defensive Player of the Week of the Big Ten. .

    In one year, he went from being named DeBoer’s backup with limited snaps to being named the best defensive player in the conference, at least for a week. He is the team captain and leading tackler for the University of Washington, rather than someone relegated solely to a backup role. He just never let it bother him to the point where he couldn’t be effective. He kept moving forward, always confident but never feeling the need to be overly impressed with himself.

    “Yeah, I could say, ‘Oh, I had a great game,’ but it wasn’t just for me, it was for everyone,” Bruener said of his performance at USC, sounding like a coach and then borrowing from his position leader, Robert Bala, to make a point. “It’s something we’ve always talked about, and we’ve talked about it recently, we’ve talked about momentum and really how that affects the future. Bala put it best: Momentum stops as soon as you look back.”

    These past few months, Bruener has played with tremendous momentum. That may not always have been the case in 2023 due to a disconnect between coaches. In what seemed like a counterproductive moment during last season’s glorious 14-1 run, former co-defensive coordinator William Inge loudly insulted the linebacker as practice came to a close, telling him, for all to hear, that he was making excuses.

    Inge and Bruener never seemed to be in complete agreement. Coaches view players differently — consider cornerback Elijah Jackson going from starting 15 games for Fisch’s staff in 2023 to filling in just this season for Jedd Fisch’s coaches — and Bruener simply wasn’t considered starting material at all. unless an injury arises.

    However, Bruener did not become a good player overnight. In 2021, he had a 16-tackle, 1.5-sack outing as a redshirt freshman and first-time starter against Stanford, was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and was the lone bright spot down the stretch. as a five-game starter in the Huskies’ 4-8 season-long free fall.

    Carson Bruener looks across the line at Michigan's offense.

    Carson Bruener looks across the line at Michigan’s offense. / Visual Images by Skylar Lin

    In one of his most telling moments in 2023 on consecutive weekends, Bruener replaced the injured Alphonzo Tuputala as Oregon State’s starter and racked up 14 tackles, returning to his backup role the following week against Washington State and coming up with another 14 tackles.

    Even more reason to question his status back then, Bruener was named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection by opposing coaches around the league, largely as a reserve player. They knew how good he was.

    Fisch employees know exactly what they have at Bruener. As the man in the middle, he has been the defensive centerpiece, the guy who takes all the shots from the second row, someone who repeatedly makes big plays.

    Similar to when DeBoer’s staff installed Troy Fautanu as its starting left offensive tackle and graciously asked two-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection Jaxson Kirkland to move from that role to offensive guard, Bruener He’s been the main man on defense this fall, while Tuputala has become something of a utility player, going from linebacker to edge rusher to rover and back again.

    Carson Bruener celebrates recovering a fumble against Michigan.

    Carson Bruener celebrates recovering a fumble against Michigan. / Visual Images by Skylar Lin

    Heading into Penn State this weekend, Carson Bruener acknowledges that, in a sense, he’s going home. He was born in Pittsburgh, when his father Mark played tight end for the Steelers, and the elder Bruener is still employed by that NFL franchise as a scout. Dad might be trying to tell the front office about this tough Washington linebacker he knows.

    As for that linebacker son, he continues to ignore the past, as well as shoulder and knee injuries this season that left him stooped and severely limping this season, and continues to play at a high level.

    “I think the real strength for us is going out there and believing in ourselves and our training,” he said, “and just going out there and making plays.”

    No matter what anyone says, Bruener does it very well.

    For the latest UW football and basketball news, visit si.com/college/washington

    Sakege
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