Carson Bruener will don a Huskies helmet one final time.
The senior linebacker was announced as an attendee of the East-West Shrine Bowl on Monday, Washington’s first honoree to one of the two major college football all-star events. Bruener had previously accepted a Hula Bowl invitation, where he was set to join tight end Keleki Latu and safety Kamren Fabiculanan.
Instead, the defensive captain will head to Texas for a week of competition, culminating in the 100th Shrine Bowl game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Bruener led the Huskies with 103 total tackles and 3 interceptions, one of only two Big Ten players to reach those marks in 2024. He also deflected 8 passes and forced a fumble en route to third-team All-Big Ten honors.
The 2024 Shrine Bowl featured Huskies defensive linemen Tuli Letuligasenoa and Zion Tupuola-Fetui, both of whom went undrafted in last April’s NFL Draft. Letuligasenoa spent the preseason with the Los Angeles Rams, while Tupuola-Fetui signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.
Bruener is projected to have better pro prospects than those two as an early to mid-Day 3 selection, around the range that his former teammate Edefuan Ulofoshio was drafted last season. Ulofoshio was a fifth-round selection by the Buffalo Bills last April.
The Shrine Bowl begins practices on Saturday, January 25th before the 100th iteration of the game kicks off on Thursday, February 1st at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time.