Bruener Uses Local Knowledge to Flourish in Final Days as Husky

The UW linebacker has been motivated by his legacy rather than monetary means.

Huskies linebacker Carson Bruener brings down USC running back Woody Marks at Husky Stadium. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

EL PASO, Texas -- As college football becomes more about players with no geographical ties whatsoever to their teams, agents negotiating on their behalf and the pursuit of big money, Carson Bruener remains that throwback player, that connection to the past, the guy who would almost play for free.

The thing that has always separated University of Washington football teams and others across the college landscape from the NFL ranks was a sense of hometown familiarity and loyalty, that kids from the neighborhoods in and around Seattle would grow up to be Huskies.

Yet that quaint notion is fast disappearing these days as bank routing numbers don't necessarily need to match area codes and rivalries such as the UW-Oregon game require some detailed explanation to Jedd Fisch's coaching staff and two-thirds of the roster.

Bruener, however, grew up just 15 miles away. He's a legacy player, the son of Mark Bruener, once an All-Pac-10 tight end for the Huskies and a 14-year pro football player. He's a team captain, same as his father. He's Northwest bred through and through, same as dad, who grew up out on the coast in Aberdeen.

While countless teammates felt the need to leave to either join departed coach Kalen DeBoer at Alabama or avoid a certain rebuilding experience in Montlake, this younger Bruener took ownership of what was left in the wake.

Early in fall camp, he rather famously made this clear, with a candid assessment of what was happening around him in terms of the financial give and take, and where exactly he stood on getting his just rewards.

“Everyone talks about it, like, ‘What if I did this? What if I went and got more money?’ I don’t give a s--- about the money, to be honest," Bruener said, referring to potential name, image and likeness (NIL) proceeds. "This is my home. This is my team. This is my program. I'm a local kid and this is a family school for me."

UW linebacker Carson Bruener has a conversation with Penn State quarterback Drew Allar while an official tries to intervene. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Entering Tuesday's Sun Bowl against Louisville, the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Bruener has been a season-long starter for the first time in his five years at the UW, the team's top tackler with 93 and the interception leader with 3.

He's been good enough to be selected as a third-team All-Big Ten selection and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, tough enough to be hunched over and injured at times and continue on, and bold enough to get up in the face of Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and have what he described as a civil conversation though it looked a little more intense than that.

Bruener certainly has never been one who was afraid to say what he feels, never dodged a sensitive situation with some vague and safe throwaway line, and never felt the need to always be politically correct.

Asked previously why he wasn't starting for DeBoer's defense, a decision apparently made by departed co-defensive coordinator William Inge in an arbitrary manner, Bruener responded more in a form of protest and a challenge rather than some dismissive explanation, saying "You would have to ask him."

There there was that moment at Penn State, captured in photos where Bruener clearly is in Allar's face while the Nittany Lions quarterback is gesturing and a woman official tries to intercede. It happened when the UW was getting beat bad and players in that situation usually lose their edge and just try to get things over with.

Not Bruener. He was still playing hard to the end, letting everyone know he was still around, and he certainly wasn't the least bit reticent about reminding others about his desire to compete.

"When I'm out there, I like to play with a lot of love and a lot of passion," Bruener said of the Allar situation. "It's something where I felt I made a good play and obviously I said something and he kind of tried to chirp back. In quotes, I said, 'Hey man, I'm just out here having fun and for the love of the game.' It was something where we looked at each other and he kind of smiled after that. It wasn't a full trash-talk moment."

Who knows, maybe they were arguing about money. Maybe Allar wanted to know Bruener wasn't getting paid more to try and tackle him that day, and why it didn't seem to bother the veteran linebacker one bit.

Carson Bruener pulls down Michigan tight end Colston Loveland in the CFP championship game. / Thomas Shea/USA TODAY Sports

Next up is the Sun Bowl, coming after the rivalry game at Oregon, While many of his current teammates didn't really feel any extra animosity toward the Ducks, Bruener understood the rivalry. It's part of being the local guy, the homegrown Husky.

Now he's down to a final outing against Louisville, which will have no less than his full attention. He's a dying breed in college football who will be playing with a full conviction to the end.

"I'm a Dawg at heart," Bruener said, "and I bleed purple."

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