Last season, Carson Bruener was a reserve linebacker for the University of Washington football team and came off the bench in 14 of 15 games. He only started when teammate Alphonzo Tuputala was injured and was unable to play against Oregon State.
No one seems to remember, let alone believe, that Bruener wasn’t a regular starter all season, punching people in the face from the first whistle.
This week, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Bruener was one of 52 college football linebackers across the country named to the Dick Butkus Award, which is given to the nation’s best player at the position.
He may be the only reserve player among these elite players who is considered the best in the defensive second line.
Bruener has shrugged off his unconventional career path. As an injured replacement for Edefuan Ulofoshio in 2021, he started five games, collected 16 tackles and a sack and a half in his first game against Stanford and was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. He has four games with 14 or more tackles in his career.
For the past two seasons, Kalen DeBoer’s team used Bruener as a backup linebacker, and yet he was able to impress opposing coaches enough that they selected him as an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection last November, making him possibly the only player to go that route.
One reason is that the Huskies’ linebacker has shown great talent. His predecessors Cam Bright, Tuputala and Ulofoshio were all either selected to the All-Pac-12 first team or received honorable mention during their time at Montlake.
As he begins his final season at the University of Wisconsin, Bruener appears to be making up for any perceived slights to his reputation within the team.
New coach Jedd Fisch has made him a full-time starter alongside Tuputala and brought him to Big Ten Media Days as one of the Huskies’ few spokespeople. It should come as no surprise if he becomes a team captain, a highly decorated player and – much like his father Mark Bruener – an NFL draft pick.
As for Butkus, the former University of Illinois All-American and future Chicago Bears legend is now 80 years old and probably more than a little arthritic after being involved in so many violent football collisions. It’s been 60 years since he played against the Huskies in the 1964 Rose Bowl, leading the Illini to a 17-7 victory.
If Bruener had a stellar season, he would meet Butkus and shake the hand of another Big Ten linebacker, probably gently.
For the latest UW football and basketball news, visit si.com/college/washington
