Husky Roster Review: Carson Bruener's Curious Role on the Defense

The legacy player hasn't started since the 2021 season.

Dan Raley | Jun 16, 2023

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Washington Huskies

Carson Bruener received his big break as a University of Washington starting linebacker just as the Jimmy Lake coaching tenure was beginning to unravel.

In one of the greatest performances at that position in modern Husky annals, he made his game-opening debut with 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in a 20-13 victory at Stanford, turning up all over the field and earning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades.

As a starter, Bruener followed up that sterling effort with 9 tackles and a 50-yard interception return against Oregon, 14 tackles against Arizona State, 6 tackles against Colorado and 11 tackles and a tackle for loss against Washington State in the Apple Cup, all losses.

Named as the Husky Freshman of the Year, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound legacy player from Redmond, Washington, was one of the few bright spots during a disturbing 4-8 season that brought down a coaching staff and left the fan base in a stupor.

Two seasons later, success has returned to Husky football and everything has fallen conveniently into place except for one unexpected development — Bruener has never started again. He appears in every game, but as defensive help off the bench and as a special-teamer.

"They're going to play the best players and they're going to put in who they want to put in," Bruener said. "At the end of the day, all I can do is come out here and play football and do my best, and come out with 100 percent effort on every single play."

Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Bruener, who wears No. 42 all to himself, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.

Carson Bruener is one of three Brueners to play Husky football, joining his father Mark and younger brother Braydon.

Carson Bruener levitates in Husky Stadium after cornerback Davon Banks (10) leveled a Michigan State kick returner.

Carson Bruener (42) waits his turn in this drill with Austin Harnetiaux (44), Edefuan Ulofoshio (5), Jordan Whitney (33) and Deven Bryant (17).

FACE TO FACE :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Carson Bruener prepares to collide with Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee during their 2022 game won by the UW 40-22.

Carson Bruener and the since graduated Cam Bright, the Pittsburgh transfer, slap hands during a 2022 fall camp practice.

Carson Bruener (42) and Jackson Sirmon (43) celebrate Bruener's 16-tackle outing at Stanford in 2021. Sirmon has since become an All-Pac-12 linebacker for California.

Carson Bruener could have signaled 16 times at Stanford, matching the number of tackles he piled up in Palo Alto in a 20-13 victory.

Braydon Bruener transferred this spring from Oregon State to the UW, joining the linebacker corps as a walk-on player.

Mark Bruener was a UW tight end before spending 14 seasons in the NFL with Pittsburgh and Houston. He's shown here at Super Bowl XXX with former Husky receiver Eric Bjornson, then of the Dallas Cowboys.

Once Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff took over, it wasn't a reach to presume that Bruener would continue on as a linebacker starter, if not a veteran leader of the UW defense.

Edefuan Ulofoshio and Jackson Sirmon, the original 2021 first-teamers at the position, were either injured or in the transfer portal, with Sirmon leaving for California to play for his father, Peter, the Bears' defensive coordinator.

However, the new Washington staff, foremost William Inge, the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, went in a different direction. Inge pointed to consistency in making those sort of decisions.

Best believe I’ll reclaim my top spot this summer 🙄 https://t.co/kEJVOfDnBq
— EDEFUAN 🇳🇬 (@Ulofoshio30) April 26, 2023

"He's done a great job in that he's been able to get his mind where it needs to be and getting his speed where it needs to be," Inge said. "He's a guy who's going to be able to play football."

Bruener, the son of former standout UW and NFL tight end Mark Bruener, was asked to back up Alphonzo Tuputala, a first-time starter, and Cam Bright, a Pittsburgh transfer.

With 45 tackles in reserve, Bruener still finished fifth on the team in 2022, trailing only safety Alex Cook (82), Tuputala (71), Bright (60) and hybrid Husky Dominique Hampton (52), all starters.

In spring ball, Bruener continued to operate with the No. 2 defense, while a healthy Ulofoshio reclaimed his starting job opposite Tuputala, with USC transfer Ralen Goforth — who, similar to Bruener, was replaced as a Trojans starter — rotating in and out with the first-teamers.

It is presumed that foot speed might factor in holding back Bruener, though he appeared sufficiently fast enough on his 50-yard interception runback against Oregon in 2021 and quick enough to make 16 tackles against Stanford.

This spring, Inge actually posted a linebacker speed chart on social media that indicated Bruener wasn't lacking in this department. The junior sort of scoffed at the idea this might be an issue for him.

"I'm doing good for now," the veteran linebacker said with a smile. "If you want the numbers, you can ask him."

Why Bruener hasn't returned to the starting lineup is a much better question.

CARSON BRUENER FILE

Service: Bruener has appeared in 24 Husky games over two seasons and started five. Again, he was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after his first game-opening assignment against Stanford in 2021.

Stats: He has 116 career tackles with 6 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 pass break-ups, 2 forced fumbles and an interception.

Role: Unless something changes, Bruener will serve as a back-up LB for a second consecutive season for DeBoer's staff and as a special-team player. He might have to wait until he's a senior in 2024 to start again.

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Published Jun 16, 2023

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.