Steelers Rookie Sought Out Miles Killebrew for Mentorship
Steelers rookie linebacker Carson Bruener knew that his ability to contribute to special teams would increase his chances of making the team’s final 53-man roster. He sought out Miles Killebrew, the Steelers’ special teams captain, to mentor him. Bruener made sure he got reps against Killebrew during training camp. He also went to Killebrew for extra work. Bruener’s hard work with his newfound mentor paid off in the Steelers’ first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Bruener had three tackles on special teams. His hard work and impressive preseason performance earned him a spot on the team’s final roster.
Bruener made an appearance on the Christian Kuntz Podcast on Thursday morning. Bruener discussed how being mentored by Killebrew helped him improve. He said, “Knowing Miles and being a Steeler fan my whole life and seeing him go here, him going to a Pro Bowl, he’s an absolute stud on special teams. So, leaning on him, and even what you said about Latrobe, there was a time at practice where he was rushing at me and beat me. He had a great little double-hand swipe when I was set. And after that practice, I went to him and was like, ‘I need to work on this because if this is something where I want to be here by the season, I want to be on punt. I want to be able to protect, and that can’t happen to me. You’re the best of the best. I want you going against me.’”
Bruener spoke about his feelings ahead of the preseason opener. He said, “It was kind of one of those things, even that first preseason game, it was weird. This one, it just felt different. It felt like I was almost like, ‘Is this weird that I’m not getting really nervous for?’ It was something where yeah, I went to [Killebrew] ’cause it was just, you gotta be loose, you gotta be light on your feet. Like, enjoy the whole process. Because even though it was preseason, it’s still my first-ever NFL game I’m playing in.”
Bruener has played 50 snaps on special teams so far during the regular season. This accounts for 66% of the Steelers’ special teams snaps and recorded three tackles this season. The Steelers picked Bruener in the seventh round of this year’s NFL Draft after playing collegiate football for the Washington Huskies. Bruener was voted a team captain for the Huskies in 2024 and started in all of their games last season. Bruener was named to the third-team All-Big Ten and the Academic All-Big Ten team in 2024.
