Huskies linebacker Carson Bruener posted a career-best performance in his first start against Stanford
Carson Bruener has an “unbelievable motor” on the football field.
That’s what his quarterback, Dylan Morris, saw from the Washington Huskies’ freshman inside linebacker from the sideline Saturday night at Stanford Stadium.
When there was a defensive play to be made it seemed Bruener, who only two days earlier was told he would be making the first start of his career against the Cardinal, was involved.
“He’ll lay his heart on the line out there for any of us, and I think that just really showed,” Morris said postgame. “And it’s just super cool to see a freshman work like that.”
Bruener led the Huskies with a career-high 15 tackles, recorded his first career sack and forced a fumble on the play, and consistently contributed in important moments to help lift UW to its first win here in 14 years.
“It’s unreal,” Bruener said of the emotion following the 20-13 victory in his first start. “I’m still kind of trying to come to terms with everything on what just happened out there, and how hard our team fought to come back and win this game.”
Bruener, who was a three-star recruit out of Redmond High School in the 2020 class, and is the son of former UW and NFL tight end Mark Bruener, played before Saturday night, but has had a more extended look on defense the past two games.
He debuted in the Huskies’ season-opener against Montana on special teams, played his first defensive snaps two weeks later against Arkansas State, collecting eight tackles and forcing a fumble, and has seen the field in seven of eight games this season.
The past two weeks though, Bruener, in place of starter Edefuan Ulofoshio — who has been ruled out for the season with an arm injury — has played the majority of the defensive snaps alongside UW’s other established starter at inside linebacker in Jackson Sirmon.
Bruener played 41 snaps last week against Arizona, per Pro Football Focus, and tallied seven tackles, before playing a career-high 61 this week, and delivering the breakout performance in his first start.
Among the key tackles Bruener made in the win were the stop he made on a completed pass on third-and-13 that led to a Stanford punt and UW field goal on the ensuing drive, and of course the strip sack in the third quarter, when he brought down quarterback Tanner McKee for a 9-yard loss and forced a fumble that was recovered by Sav’ell Smalls, leading to another Huskies field goal on their following possession.
Bruener finished with 11 solo tackles — another career-high. He had six tackles in the first quarter alone.
He was also pivotal in helping the Huskies hold Stanford to 71 yards on the ground — a season-best for a UW defense that was allowing 194.6 rushing yards per game entering the weekend.
“I felt as ready as I could be,” Bruener said of his first start. “Our game plan going into this week, I feel like we were able to stop the run today, and that’s something we haven’t been able to do the previous weeks. So, sticking to our jobs with the game plan that we had helped me be in the right position at the right time.”
While the Huskies’ locker room rumbled with excitement postgame, Bruener was one of several young players on this roster coach Jimmy Lake commended postgame, noting both his performance in practices the past week, and what he produced on the field.
“This last week Carson Bruener rose to the top, and he definitely rose to the top tonight,” Lake said. “He was one of the big reasons why we’re coming out of here with a victory.”
