Husky Roster Review: UW's Third Bruener is Smaller, Unfunded

He answers to a football name that describes a University of Washington legacy family and wears a number that represents another.

What Braydon Bruener needs to do now is push all those trappings aside and carve out his own pathway in Montlake.

Unlike all of the others, this youngest Bruener will do it without a scholarship, at least initially.

He's the second-eldest of three sons for Mark Bruener, who was a three-year starter at tight end for highly accomplished 1990s Husky teams before logging 14 seasons in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans.

He's the younger brother of Carson Bruener, a fourth-year UW player who has five career starts, a Pac-12 Player of the Week selection from 2021 and a bunch of bone-rattling hits on his football resume.

None of it matters one bit in terms of getting Braydon Bruener on the football field for the Huskies anytime soon. That's all on him.

"He told me he was planning on entering the portal, but he wasn't quite sure where he wanted to go," said Carson Bruener, a junior UW linebacker. "I obviously wanted him here."

Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, the younger Bruener, who wears No. 51 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.

Braydon Bruener has followed his father, Mark, and brother, Carson, to the University of Washington football team.

Braydon Bruener is a linebacker who played at Redmond High School before spending last year at Oregon State, and now he's home gain.

While Ralen Goforth runs upfield, the Bruener brothers, Braydon and Carson, cross paths at practice in Dempsey Indoor.

Braydon Bruener is shown on a Montana State recruiting trip, but he had bigger aspirations than Big Sky football and headed to the Pac-12.

Braydon Bruener (17) was singled out for his Las Vegas Bowl scout team work along with six Oregon State teammates by coach Jonathan Smith, fourth from left.

Braydon Bruener's older sibling, Carson, is shown in his moment of glory against Stanford, where he had a 16-tackle game.

This third Bruener dons a Husky jersey number made highly visible by a couple of generations of Kirklands, Dean and Jaxson, who, of course were decorated offensive linemen.

On top of his lack of financial aid, young Bruener is at a decided disadvantage because he's notably undersized at 6-foot and 190 pounds.

His brother has two inches and 33 pounds on him, while is dad played at four inches taller and 70 pounds more than Braydon Bruener.

The excess size enabled Mark Bruener to even play and start on occasion as a redshirt freshman for the Huskies' 1991 national championship team.

His brother Carson redshirted for a year before he got a chance to play in the second half of his second season with the Huskies.

Braydon Bruener tried to make his own way by walking on at Oregon State and receiving scout-team accolades for the Beavers' postseason game against Florida, a 30-3 victory in the Las Vegas Bowl, but he didn't get on the field.

That brought him back home where he joined the Huskies midway through spring practice. He was well down the depth chart in Montlake. His brother again was happy to have him around. Their dad, currently a Steelers scout, came out to sneak a peek at both of his two sons wearing purple colors.

Service: Braydon Bruener spent last football season at Oregon State, but didn't appear in a game, likely because he's undersized.

Stats: He has none at the college level.

Role: This Bruener will probably need another full year to become physically ready to play, so expect him to disappear some behind the scenes.

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