Carson Bruener wanted to play college football. Just like his father.
Check.
He wanted to attend Washington. Just like his father.
Check.
He wanted to be a tight end. Just like his father.
Um, not so fast.
Bruener, a draft-eligible inside linebacker and son of former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round Mark Bruener, has his mother Traci’s genes to blame for that.
“We joke that my mom is 5-2, 5-3, so I never hit that 6-4 mark,” Bruener said. “I thought if I hit that mark, maybe I’d be a tight end.”
Instead, Bruener’s growth spurt stopped when he reached 6-1. Perhaps that’s a good thing. Bruener prefers hitting the big guys catching passes rather than being the one catching them.
“I always truly loved linebacker,” Bruener said at the NFL Combine. “I played offense too in high school. I was all over the place. Tight end was one of the places I was able to play, and I loved scoring touchdowns, but being on defense, I had a lot more freedom and it fit my game better.”
Unlike his father, Bruener won’t hear his name called on the first day of the draft. Probably not the second, either. Bruener’s breakdown on NFL.com lists him at a sixth-round or seventh-round pick.
It wasn’t until his senior year at Washington that Bruener became a full-time starter, but he led the Huskies with 104 tackles and three interceptions. He broke up five passes and had a forced fumble.
“The biggest thing I tell (teams) is my instincts,” Bruener said. “I feel like I’m a sideline-to-sideline player. I read plays well and go execute them.”
Bruener wouldn’t mind following in his father’s footsteps and joining the Steelers. Since he is a scout for the organization — his territory including the Pacific Northwest — Mark Bruener would have the kind of inside information that only a father would possess. Mark Bruener, though, has allowed others in the organization to watch his son’s progress.
“Over time with my dad working for the Steelers, I’ve been able to meet other Steelers scouts,” Bruener said. “I’ve interviewed with them at the Shrine Bowl and here (at the combine). It was like seeing a familiar face.”
And Bruener made sure his father wasn’t part of the interview process.
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“He stood up and was going to leave no matter what,” Bruener said. “I made a joke and said ‘(get to the) back wall,’ and he said, ‘I got you.’ … He doesn’t want to be the hovering parent and listen in. He wanted me to get the true experience of the process. I appreciated him giving me that space.”
Bruener insists he hasn’t seen any of the reports his father has submitted to the Steelers about his pluses and minuses as a college prospect.
“He gives me pointers and tips here and there, but I don’t know what my true scouting report on myself is,” he said. “I haven’t asked, nor has he told me.”
What the Steelers — or any NFL team — will get is a player who persevered through five college seasons, playing for three head coaches (plus one interim) and being recruited by another. He was a special teams MVP for the Huskies on their run to the national championship game in 2023. He labored through a 6-7 season as a senior and was the only Washington player invited to the combine where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds.
Bruener is rated the No. 17 inside linebacker in NFL.com’s prospect rankings. The position contains just three of the top 100 prospects.
“It’s not a great off the ball linebacker year,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said.
Still, Bruener believes his versatility is an asset that could help him stick with an NFL team.
“I can sell teams that they are getting a linebacker but they’re also getting a hell of a special teams player,” he said. “If they need me to long snap, I can long snap. Mom told me to learn long snapping.”
Yes, Bruener credits Traci and not Mark for that trait.
“My dad had buddies that were long snappers in the NFL and had long careers and made a lot of money,” he said. “Mom always said that whenever — not if, but whenever — linebacker runs out, and it’s that time of your career and you might be moving on, if you have long-snapping experience, it could be an asset.
“Your body is going to feel a lot better after that, and you’re going to continue to play. That dates all the way back to high school.”