UW Fresh Start (No. 42): Star Was born in Carson Bruener in 2021
New coach Kalen DeBoer can only wish that every position battle on his University of Washington football team will turn out as competitive as what's coming at inside linebacker.
Leading this group is Edefuan Ulofoshio, a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2020 and a 12-game starter in 26 outings over three seasons, who returns following an arm injury last fall sat him down at midseason.
Pittsburgh transfer Cam Bright joins the UW after playing in 52 games and starting 20 over five seasons for the Panthers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, serving as a co-captain and scoring on a 26-yard fumble return in his final outing in the Peach Bowl.
Daniel Heimuli returns to the fray after appearing in 15 Husky games and starting two of them, and trying to live up to the reputation as one of the chosen ones who selected the Huskies over Alabama and Oregon during his recruitment.
There's also Alphonzo Tuputala, so big and fast and underrated, who's back for his fourth season in the UW program after playing in 13 games and overcoming an Achilles tendon tear along the way.
Are we missing anyone?
Oh yes, there's this guy named Carson Bruener.
Can't forget him. Don't want to overlook him at all. It's quite possible that the 6-foot-2, 230-pound sophomore from Redmond, Washington, ultimately might be the best of this bunch of accomplished backers.
Less than a month until spring practice, we're offering intel and observations gathered on the UW football personnel in a series of stories on every scholarship player from No. 0 to 99. We'll review each Husky's previous starting experience, if applicable, and determine what comes next under DeBoer.
As is the case with any coaching change, it's a new football beginning for everyone, including the Huskies' No. 42.
In doing a full background check, this linebacker is one of those Husky legacy players and the son of former tight end Mark Bruener, who played in three Rose Bowls for the UW and spent 14 seasons in the NFL.
This younger Bruener showed he has a nice pair of hands, too, when he intercepted an Oregon pass and returned it 50 yards on an otherwise dreary November afternoon that would end in disaster for the UW on the scoreboard and in its coaching ranks.
Against Stanford the week before, Bruener started for the first time and turned in a performance that was as electrifying as any for a Husky freshman, true or redshirt.
His 16-tackle outing ranked right up there with the exploits of running back Jacque Robinson (1982 Rose Bowl MVP outing against Iowa), wide receiver Spider Gaines (78-yard game-winning TD catch in the 1975 Apple Cup) and strong safety Tommie Smith (a blocked punt and TD return against USC in 1989).
Bruener also collected a sack and a half, and forced a fumble against the Cardinal. All of this led to him being named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, something Ulofoshio earned in 2019 as a redshirt freshman after a 9-tackle and 1.5-sack performance against Oregon State, and Bright received in 2020 in the ACC following a 10-tackle, 2-TFL, forced-fumble outing against Syracuse.
Bruener started the final five games and was one of the few bright spots in a downturn of a 2021 season marred by several high-profile players getting injured, Jimmy Lake and his staff getting fired and the Huskies finishing a dismal 4-8.
He finished as the UW's second-leading tackler with 70 tackles, which included 2.5 for lost yards and those 1.5 sacks; plus 2 quarterback hurries, a pair of forced fumbles and that interception that stretched half the length of Husky Stadium.
Bruener clearly showed himself to be a star in the making.
UW Starter or Not: Bruener is just getting started as a first-teamer. We're not sure who's going to come off the bench this season, but it won't automatically be him because of his relative youth or whatever. Just like his dad, give him a taste and he'll want the whole pie. Barring any injuries, Bruener should be a Husky starter fairly consistently for the next three seasons.
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