Brisker began his collegiate career at Lackawanna College.[4] After his freshman season, Brisker committed to transfer to Penn State over offers from Alabama, Ole Miss, Maryland, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, Utah, and West Virginia.[5] As a sophomore, he had 64 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and nine sacks with five passes broken up, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.[6]
Penn State
In his first season at Penn State in 2019, Brisker played in 13 games and finished the year with 32 tackles, two interceptions, and three pass breakups.[7]
He was named a starter going into his senior season in 2020 and was named third-team All-Big Ten after recording 57 tackles, four passes broken up, and one interception.[8]
Brisker decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and return to Penn State in 2021.[9] During the 2021 season, Brisker was voted as a team captain while tallying 64 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, five passes broken up, and a fumble recovery. On December 28, 2021, Brisker announced he would be skipping the 2022 Outback Bowl and declared for the 2022 NFL draft.[10] He was voted as a second-team All-American, first-team All-Big Ten, and accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl (later electing to opt-out).[11][12]
Brisker was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the 48th overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.[15] To obtain the pick, the Bears traded Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers, while also receiving a future sixth round pick.[16]
In his professional debut, during a 19–10 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Brisker recorded four tackles and recovered a fumble.[17] On October 24, against the New England Patriots, Brisker got his first career interception, off of Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.[18] On November 20, facing off against Atlanta Falcons Brisker went to tackle quarterbackMarcus Mariota and got his head slammed into tight endMyCole Pruitt's back. Slow to get up Brisker was helped off the field. He missed just one snap on defense before returning to the game. In the third quarter, Brisker assisted a tackle on former Bears' return specialistCordarrelle Patterson ending in him hitting the turf while grabbing his head. He returned to the next series and finished the game.[19] The next day, Brisker was diagnosed with a concussion and missed the next two games.[20] Brisker finished the season with 104 combined tackles, four sacks, two pass deflections, a forced fumble, and recovery, as well as an interception.[21] Following the regular season, Pro Football Focus named Brisker to the 2022 All-Rookie Team.[22] He was also voted as the Bears' Rookie of the Year by CBS Sports Chicago.[23]
