THE PENNANT PLAYER PROFILE
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Grant Bruner took a leap of faith in 2017 when he made the decision to play his college football at Washburn University.
Not only was Bruner, a former All-Stater at Gretna High School, leaving his home state of Nebraska but came to Washburn without a scholarship, joining WU as a walk-on.
It's a decision that has paid off for Bruner and the Ichabods.
"Coming out of high school I wasn't a big camp guy, I didn't go to a lot of camps and I didn't have a lot of exposure,'' said Bruner, a 6-foot, 220-pound linebacker. "Coach (Eric) Eisenbarth (former WU assistant) came up and visited me and got me down here on a visit and just talking with coach (Craig) Schurig and then coach (Zach) Watkins was the big seller.
"(Watkins) was a really good linebacker here and it was worth taking a chance coming down here as a walk-on. I knew I could compete at this level and I'm just glad that I chose Washburn. I wouldn't change anything.''
After coming to Washburn as a walk-on out of Gretna, Neb., junior linebacker Grant Bruner (43) led the Ichabods in tackles in 2019. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
After a redshirt year, Bruner, whose hometown is about 2 hours, 45 minutes from Topeka, saw action in all 11 games in the '18 season, registering 18 tackles with an interception.
Bruner, who also won a state wrestling championship in high school, then put together a breakout season as a redshirt sophomore in '19, leading 6-5 Washburn with 73 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Now Bruner, who received a scholarship after his first season at Washburn, is being counted on to be a leader for an experienced WU defensive unit this fall.
"I might not be the big rah rah guy,'' Bruner said. "I'll chip in and say stuff whenever I need to, but I usually like to just show it on the field and go that route.
"At the same time, if I need to get after somebody I'll get after somebody or if I need to encourage somebody I'll encourage somebody.''
Like everybody else in the Washburn football family, Bruner is chomping at the bit to get back in action after having the '20 season wiped out by COVID-19.
"Two years without football has been pretty miserable, I'm not going to lie,'' Bruner said. "It's hard to stay focused for that long without getting that reward. You can practice all you want and we love practicing and you love competing against everybody on the team and talking crap, but at the end of the day the reward is games and we just haven't been able to have that.''
Now Bruner is confident that the Ichabods can make up for lost time and turn in a big '21 season.
"It was two years ago, but based on the way we finished those last four or five games, we were playing good football,'' Bruner said. "We have big expectations within the team, but at the same time expectations don't really mean anything.
"It comes down to Saturdays and getting the job done and I think we have the team to do it. It's just are we going to do it, and I think we will.''
