UW Senior LB Bruener Leaves Lasting Mark in Sun Bowl Defeat

Even before Carson Bruener became a Washington Husky in 2020 there was no questioning his team-first mindset. 

In his final college football game Tuesday afternoon against Louisville four years later the senior linebacker left it all out on the field in the Huskies' 35-34 loss to the Cardinals. 

Bruener led UW with 11 tackles (9 solo) and added two quarterback pressures on Louisville redshirt senior Harrison Bailey, ending the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Husky legacies' career with 306 tackles over 52 games in purple and gold. 

"I feel like the biggest thing — and I know a lot of us fifth, sixth-years and seniors try to just kind of push on the young guys is just the culture and what it means to be a Husky," Bruener said, reflecting on his time after the bowl loss. 

"I committed in 2020 and I've been here since, and I never even thought about leaving no matter what. I love this university and that's something I've kind of been pushing on the young guys, telling them what I know about it. What it's like, best spots on campus — even just the little things — how to navigate campus, classes, how to manage all that. I'm excited where this team is going and I can't wait to watch."

With Bruener's double digit tackles in the Sun Bowl it pushed him up to No. 5 in the Big Ten Conference with 104 tackles, tied with Purdue sophomore safety Dillon Thieneman, and marked the fourth straight season the son of former UW tight end Mark Bruener finished among the top five tacklers on the Huskies' defense. 

After committing to then-UW coach Chris Petersen in June 2019, the Redmond High School surprised some by choosing not to participate in the annual Rising Stars Camp, opting to help his high school basketball team play in a tournament instead. 

It wasn't out of disrespect to his future coach — one of three as it turned out starting with Jimmy Lake (2020-21), then Kalen DeBoer (2022-22) and this past season under Jedd Fisch — or the school. 

His impact mattered more with his high school basketball team at that moment, and that two-sport training allowed him to become one of the better UW players in recent memory as a result. 

"I knew I had to make the right decision for myself and find a place that fits me and feels like home" Bruener said in June 2019, "and that happened to be the University of Washington."

Having registered over 300 tackles and helping lead the program to a Pac-12 Championship in 2023, a Sugar Bowl win and the first National Championship appearance in over three decades, there is no doubt Bruener made the right decision and Washington was better for it.