Inside The Huskies

Bruener Drafted by Steelers, 30 Years After They Took His Dad

The UW linebacker went in the seventh round as the 226th player selected overall.
Dan Raley|
Carson Bruener stares across the line at the Michigan offense.
Carson Bruener stares across the line at the Michigan offense. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Carson Breuner's father works for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now if all goes well, so will he.

On Saturday, the former University of Washington linebacker took a step in that direction by becoming as the only Husky selected in this NFL Draft -- going to the Steelers with the 10th pick of the seventh and final round, and as the 226th player chosen overall.

A year ago, 10 of his Husky teammates coming off a national runnerup team were rewarded by the pros.

This time, the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Bruener from a rebuilding and sub-.500 Husky outfit was the one taken.

At least, he has someone in the family he can share this moment with, joining his father, Mark, as Steelers draft picks.

Thirty years go, the older Bruener was a former Husky tight end, two inches taller and 27 pounds heavier than his son is now, who went to Pittsburgh with the 27th pick of the first round on his way to a 14-year NFL career. He still works for the Steelers as a scout.

This younger Bruener drew attention to himself with a UW senior year in which he led the team in tackles with 103 and in interceptions with 3, was named as a third-team All-Big Ten selection and showed off his underrated speed at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

While in Indianapolis, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds, considered highly mobile for a linebacker prospect.

The last time the Huskies had just one player drafted was 2013, when cornerback Desmond Trufant was the only selection, going to the Atlanta Falcons as a first-round choice, as the 22 player taken overall.

To get the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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