When Carson Bruener ran off the field with an apparent shoulder injury in the Apple Cup, he appeared to be in a significant amount of pain, and his status looked to be in jeopardy for the Washington Huskies’ Big Ten opener against the Northwestern Wildcats.
However, even though Bruener said he was unsure of his status throughout the week, coach Jedd Fisch assured the media that the senior was going to play, and he thrived. He tied with defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez for the team lead with 6 tackles and added an interception just before halftime.
For his efforts, he was named the Dawg of the Week.
“It means a lot,” Bruener said. “For me, getting that, I’ll be honest, throughout the week, I didn’t know if I was going to play or not. The shoulder felt pretty banged up. Obviously, I wasn’t able to practice much going into that game…but this program means a lot to me, I’ve been here a long time and this is my last year, so I need to take every opportunity I can to go out there and help this team win.”
“That was my mindset throughout the week, staying here late throughout the week, doing as much extra as I can to get back for this team. That was something I was able to do and Coach Fisch rewarded me, and that achievement, it felt good.”
Through four games, Bruener leads the team with 21 tackles, No. 5 with 2 tackles for loss, and is one of three players on the team with an interception. He’s also one of Washington’s six captains and has been an elite pass rusher when asked to blitz from his inside linebacker position, consistently getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.