Saint Francis alumni Ben Bruni returned to the Red Flash in November 2020 as the program’s linebackers coach.
In 2023, the linebacker group helped the Red Flash defense rank third in the NEC with 354.4 total yards of offense allowed and 168.7 rushing yards against. The defense also ranked 12th in the FCS with a 72.2 percent red zone defense.
Carter Glassmyer was named a Stats Perform FCS Freshman All-American and a Jerry Rice Award Finalist under Bruni’s guidance. He was also named ECAC and NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year. He led FCS freshmen with 9.0 total tackles per game and ranked 28th overall. The mark led the NEC.
William Middleton was named Second Team All-NEC after he finished eighth in the NEC with 7.2 total tackles per game. Bruni also assisted Mercury Swaim to a conference second-best two forced fumbles and Kesean Dyson to a seventh-best three sacks.
In his second season as the linebackers coach in 2022, Bruni assisted a defense that allowed 21.5 points per game and 333 yards per game, which both ranked top-20 in the FCS and led the NEC. He assisted Sebastian Benjamin to All-NEC First Team honors after his 7.5 sacks led Saint Francis. Benjamin also tied a single-game program record with four sacks against Akron (9/1) under Bruni's guidance.
Bruni also assisted Willie O'Hara to All-NEC Second Team honors and a team-high 77 total tackles that ranked third in the NEC. He also coached Colt Jennings, who was named one of 15 finalists for the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award - presented by Stats Perform to an FCS student-athlete who excels on the field, in the classroom, in the community and beyond.
During his first season with the Red Flash in 2021, Bruni assisted a Red Flash defense that gave up 19.1 points per game and 146.4 rushing yards per game, both top-four in the NEC.
Bruni appeared in 44 games in a Saint Francis career that spanned from 2015-18, amassing 231 tackles - including 131 solo - and 8.5 sacks. His 89 tackles as a senior in 2018 led the team, while his four fumble recoveries were tied for first in FCS. Bruni was a second-team All-NEC honoree in his senior year in 2018 and played in all 12 games of Saint Francis' NEC Championship season in 2016.
Bruni graduated from Saint Francis in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. The Pittsburgh native spent the 2019-20 academic year as a teacher at Walker Grant Middle School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he taught history and coached baseball.
