Bruener Knows Caleb Williams from PAC-12 Days
by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published November 20, 2025, 2:14 PM
PITTSBURGH, PA – By the time players reach the NFL, most of their college world fades into the rearview. Old stadiums, former rivals, and weekly quarterback duels all get replaced by new cities, new teammates, and new playbooks. But every so often, someone from that old life reappears on the schedule — and the past collides with the present.
For Pittsburgh Steelers rookie linebacker Carson Bruener, that moment arrives this week in Chicago.
The Steelers travel to Soldier Field to face the 7–3 Bears and their young franchise centerpiece, Caleb Williams, a player Bruener knows better than most in Pittsburgh’s locker room. Their paths to the NFL couldn’t have looked more different.
Williams came in as the 2024 No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner, the type of quarterback who had a national spotlight long before he entered the league. Bruener arrived through a quieter, harder door a 7th-round pick, No. 226 overall, making his mark on special teams and fighting for defensive opportunities.
Still, their careers are connected. At Washington, Bruener didn’t just prepare for Williams — he had to deal with him in real time.
“I feel like the biggest thing is what he did in college has shown up in the NFL,” Bruener said. “He really hasn’t changed his play style. He’s still out there making plays, extending plays, making people miss. He has his go-to spin move back in the pocket, and he’ll extend plays and find open receivers downfield.”
He remembers the last meeting well. Washington beat USC at the Coliseum but that didn’t mean the defense felt great walking off the field.
“We ended up winning that game down at the Coliseum,” he said, “but they still hung 42 on us. What he did was impressive. Even though we won, us as a defense, we were pissed off about it. But I can’t take any credit away from his talent and his ability at quarterback.”
Was Williams the best quarterback he faced?
“I would say so, yeah,” Bruener said.
Williams might not recognize Bruener was a rotational linebacker with the Huskes.
What makes Bruener’s perspective unique is how he faced elite quarterbacks like Williams while not even being a full-time starter. Washington rotated nearly half a dozen linebackers a game. Bruener described it as a “rotational role,” but his effectiveness didn’t match the limited snaps it exceeded them.
“Yeah, no, it was 2022, 2023,” he said. “Our coach was like, if you show up, if you work and prepare the right way, you’ll get rewarded. One of my best friends, a walk-on (Drew Fowler), was getting in. He was a hell of a player and should’ve been a scholarship guy his whole career. He got it his last year.”
Bruener emphasized that competition never became resentment. Clearly everyone wants to play everyone down possible, however the team approach helped maximize the Washington defense.
“It wasn’t turning heads or pointing fingers or getting pissed off about getting taken off. Yes, I wanted to be on the field the whole-time 100 percent but at the end of the day everyone deserves a chance.”
And even in that role, the production came.
“I got all-conference honors as a backup and had like 86 tackles,” he said. “We rotated, so I was getting 40 percent snaps, 35 percent.”
What would those numbers have looked like with starter-level reps?
“My guess was probably about 120, 130,” Bruener said. “Yeah and I only started one game.”
It’s a grounded, matter-of-fact assessment not self-promotion, just math from someone who understood his role and maximized it. Trust me on that, Carson is one of those young players on the Steelers roster that seems like when the time finally arrives he’ll take full advantage.
Sort of the same way he did in college. If you not familiar with his first game where the tallied eight tackles in quarter in his college debut as Washington demolished Arkansas-State.
When Bruener steps onto the field Sunday, he won’t just be seeing Williams again.
Washington has spread across the Bears’ roster. His former teammate Rome Odunze, now a first-round pick and one of Chicago’s top wideouts, will be on the opposite sideline. Kyler Gordon may be back from injury. And Bruener believes edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka recently found his way to Chicago as well.
“I was texting with Rome already,” Bruener said. “I’ll be able to see him during the game.”
These are the small joys the NFL doesn’t often advertise the brief reunions amid the collisions. Former teammates turned opponents. Familiar tendencies resurfacing. A Saturday past bleeding into a Sunday present.
For Bruener, a seventh-round pick grinding up the depth chart, matchups like these carry weight. They’re reminders that he shared fields and held his own against quarterbacks like Williams long before arrived on Sundays.
Most of the Bruener’s time will be spent on special teams but we’ve come to learn that if the moment strikes, he’ll be ready and more important. Bruener most likely will be productive.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
