Carson Bruhn developed physically, mentally during redshirt season
Redshirt freshman tight end Carson Bruhn has made waves throughout fall camp, with many coaches complimenting his growth. Director of Sports Performance Matt Gildersleeve said Bruhn has developed tremendously, and co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Matt Lubick said Bruhn is picking up things fast and taking advantage of his opportunities.
Physical development a credit to strength and nutrition staffs
The development for Bruhn started with transforming his body. He arrived at Kansas weighing 245 pounds with 22% body fat. After a year in the program, Bruhn now weighs 255, but he’s trimmed his body fat to 13%.
Bruhn and so many other Jayhawks have undergone a physical transformation thanks to the help of the strength and nutrition staff. The three-star prospect from Sioux Center, Iowa, said he feels both lighter and faster.
“It’s a big compliment to our strength staff and also our nutritionists,” Bruhn said. “They do a great job at giving us the tools and the opportunity to make our bodies better.”
Gildersleeve oversees Kansas’ strength and conditioning staff and many players credit him and the nutritionists for their physical development. Bruhn said the staff does a great job caring for players and motivating by uplifting them.
“They care about each and every one of you,” Bruhn said. “And I think it’s really obvious when you go into a training session or something like that and you’re not meeting the standard, they’ll bring you up. They’re not going to yell at you or try and just get after you, but they’re going to talk about uplifting people to the standard. So that’s what they do, and I think it makes it a great thing.”
Bruhn did different things to learn the playbook
Bruhn also took a big step learning the play book and increasing his knowledge of the offense. Kansas does a lot of different things with its tight ends, and learning each aspect of the offense has allowed Bruhn to play faster.
“We have such a large offense here at KU, and just being able to learn every spot and every position because when we run 12, we run 13 personnel, you got to know every single wide receiver, tight end,” Bruhn said. “We line up in the backfield. So I think it’s just getting comfortable with the playbook and then being able to play faster is what I’ve seen change.”
Bruhn has done different things to help him elevate his knowledge of the offense. He walked through plays by himself in the summer and wrote down plays on his white board. Bruhn also picked the brains of his roommates– offensive linemen Tyler Mercer and Jack Tanner, defensive end Greydon Grimes, and safety Colter McDaniel– gaining knowledge of the game from multiple perspectives.
As he enters his second college season, Bruhn feels confident in his abilities as a blocker. He said smashing people in the mouth is something he does and takes pride in blocking. Now, he wants to continue to develop as a receiving threat.
“Route running has been a big emphasis,” Bruhn said. “I’m pretty confident in my ability to block, so being able to create separation from defenders, go up and catch a ball, and really understand defensive concepts—coverage-wise—has been areas I’ve been trying to improve here in fall camp.”
