Washington’s annual spring football game may not have drawn the 40,000 people that new head coach Jedd Fisch was aiming for, but it was still a much larger crowd than the Huskies have drawn in years past.
Fisch called it “a fun night,” one with a “party atmosphere” that he wants to keep as a theme of the spring showcase.
And what’s more fun than being good?
Wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter was one of the day’s standouts while running with the Gold, or (mostly) second-string offense. Catching passes from true freshman Demond Williams as he has all spring, Hunter was particularly imposing in the red zone. In the third quarter, he went over cornerback Curley Reed’s head on a fade route for a touchdown, flashing his hands late to prevent Reed from getting his head around or hands up to break up the pass.
Moments later, the Gold team lined up to go for 2, Hunter beat cornerback Darren Barkins on a fade to the other side. The throw from Williams had more arc on it, with Hunter running under it and getting a foot in bounds as Barkins dove at his ankles.
It seems like a formality that the California transfer, who had 62 catches for 703 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, will be a starter at receiver when the lights come on at Husky Stadium this season.
On the defensive side, Bruener led the Gold team, which was primarily made up of the second-stringers, but mixed a few presumed starters like cornerback Ephesians Prysock in. But Bruener had an impact in all three phases of the game on Friday night.
After soccer coaches Jamie Clark and Nicole Van Dyke each kicked 25-yard field goals in the second quarter (Clark missed his, Van Dyke nailed hers), it was Bruener and wide receiver Denzel Boston’s turn in the third.
Bruener cleared the upright with plenty of room to spare with a kick that looked like it could have been good from as deep as 40 yards out, earning the Gold team a handful of points in the process.
ITS GOOD @BruenerCarson 🙌😂 pic.twitter.com/QRGoxZui7I
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) May 4, 2024
Boston was less gifted in the kicking department, sending his try wide right and just short of the upright. (Don’t feel too bad – he still had 7 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown.)
A few minutes later, Bruener entered the game on offense for the trailing Gold team, motioning across the formation and taking a reverse before lining up to throw. He juked one defender and launched a missile across the field, hitting running back Jonah Coleman on the opposite hash in stride for a gain of 43 yards.
Fisch said afterwards that he had no idea his linebacker could kick or throw like that, but safety Kamren Fabiculanan, who’s entering his fifth season as Bruener’s teammate, said he knew Bruener could kick from watching some post-practice reps.
While he may not be asked to fill in as the emergency kicker or throw a pass in a real game, Bruener will be a key component of the Huskies defense, both as a player and as a leader as the Huskies officially step into the Fisch era.
Fabiculanan said in the postgame interview that the culture of Fisch’s first team is competition.
And what’s more competitive than a linebacker kicking field goals and throwing passes?