Star in the Making, It's Bruener and Everybody Else at ILB

The biggest question around the sophomore linebacker is who will line up next to him.

Carson Bruener couldn't do it all, could he? The young inside linebacker might think, but not the new University of Washington football staff.

So following multiple injuries to standout Edefuan Ulofoshio and the defection of former starter Jackson Sirmon to California, the incoming Kalen DeBoer coaching staff wisely went out and brought in a pair of sixth-year transfers in Cam Bright from Pittsburgh and Kris Moll from Alabama-Birmingham to build up the roster numbers.

Which created a most interesting dilemma, especially when Ulofoshio is ready to play again: Who starts and who comes in off the bench among this foursome or proven starters?

Here's wagering it will be Bruener and everyone else battling for the starting spots.

Carson Bruener had a sensational debut against Stanford / UW Athletics

That's not to diminish anyone's ability here, especially Ulofoshio, who will need time to get into the flow again, but in comparing their college career paths, Bruener is on a fast track that supersedes the others. 

It's like once you put Bruener in there, just try and yank him out of the Husky lineup.

With fall camp three weeks away, we're previewing each of the 22 starting positions and creating a depth chart to go with them. After examining the four guys on the front wall of the UW defense, we've moved to the inside linebackers. Following is a breakdown of the first of these two positions along the second row.

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INSIDE LINEBACKER

1) Carson Bruener, 6-2, 224, So., Woodinville, Washington

2) Alphonzo Tuputala, 6-2, 235, So., Federal Way, Washington

3) Daniel Heimuli, 6-0, 230, So., East Palo Alto, California

4) Edefuan Ulofoshio, 6-1, 230, Jr., Las Vegas (injured)

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In comparing each of their second college seasons, Bright and Moll played a lot for their previous teams in 2018 but they weren't starters. Ulofoshio, without a scholarship, pulled three game-opening assignments to close out the 2019 season.

Bruener, after replacing the idle Ulofoshio, took it a little farther by starting five times last fall and rang up, in order, 16, 9, 14, 6 and 11 tackles. 

He received Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors after his first outing against Stanford, registering not only a career-best tackle total but also 1.5 sacks and a caused fumble. A week later, he nearly scored on a 50-yard interception return against Oregon. He posted huge tackle totals against Arizona State and Washington State.

As the son of former UW and NFL tight end Mark Bruener, he's a legacy player who has star quality plastered all over him. This Bruener comes with football instincts you can't teach and an aggressive style that will continue to endear to Husky fans over the next three seasons.

Alphonzo Tuputala has been better than advertised.  / UW Athletics

We presumptuously put all of the linebacker newcomers at the other inside position (see tomorrow's story) to battle it out while Ulofoshio works to come back. 

Bruener could be backed up by Tuputala, who spent most of the spring playing next to his fellow sophomore on the No. 1 defense. Fully recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Tuputala remains a wild card and in the middle of the competition.

When he arrived as a UW recruit in 2019, Tuputala was ranked behind Heimuli and the since-departed Josh Calvert, now at Utah, but passed them up for playing time. He's going to play a lot for the Huskies before he's done.

Heimuli, once a 4-star prospect who had an Alabama offer, has two career starts to his name, but he has work to do to keep up with the others. 

Ulofoshio, coming off an offseason knee injury following an arm injury last season, likely is pegged for a midseason return. Of course, he was a 2020 second-team All-Pac-12 pick before the injuries caught up with him. 

Conclusion: Bruener gives the new Husky coaching staff great comfort in heading up the linebacking corps. Providing he stays healthy, the big mystery is who pulls the most starting assignments next to him — Bright, Moll, Tuputala or Ulofoshio? It will be interesting to see how everything plays out.

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