As the San Antonio Brahmas prepared to start a new chapter in their franchise history in the first season of the UFL, they grabbed headlines when they allowed YouTuber “Deestroying” Donald de la Haye to compete to be their placekicker. Initially, signing De La Haye seemed to be an attempt at grabbing early publicity, while many had low expectations for San Antonio after going 3-7 during their first season in the XFL. When the Brahmas announced during training camp that De La Haye would be their kicker during the 2024 season, there was significant excitement about De La Haye getting a legitimate opportunity to be the starting kicker in a professional football league.
That excitement turned to disappointment when the Brahmas announced that De La Haye would miss the rest of the season after he made a tackle in a Week 2 matchup against the Memphis Showboats and suffered a broken neck. The Brahmas moved “Deestroying” to the IR list, and it seemed the kicker missed another chance to establish himself as a capable kicker as a career. The Brahmas and De La Haye recently announced that he would return to the Brahma’s roster for the 2025 UFL season.
Recently, De La Haye discussed his return to the UFL with Brahmas punter Brad Wing on his “Kickin’ It With Dee” podcast on YouTube. He also talked about the challenges he faced during the 2024 season, including competing for the placekicking job during pre-season training camp. “Deestroying” is confident that he is more prepared to perform well for the Brahmas after learning several lessons during his 2024 experience.
Coming into the 2025 season, De La Haye mentioned feeling more prepared than before the 2024 season. During training camp, “Deestroying” competed for his position on the Brahmas roster against NFL veteran kicker Matt Amendola. In addition to the competitive atmosphere, De La Haye was getting used to his new teammates and a coaching staff led by head coach Wade Phillips.
Wing asked De La Haye what he was doing to get ready for the season, and De La Haye mentioned that he would be working on tackling drills. De La Haye said, “I might do some tackling drills, but my mind is on making business decisions.” So it seems that De La Haye’s lesson learned is that he needs to be mindful when he is in a position to make tackles against kick returners who have made it past the Brahmas kick coverage team.
For Brahmas fans, it is important that De La Haye uses his experience last year to put himself in a position to play at a higher level. While De La Haye did not attempt a field goal for the Brahmas, his post-injury replacement struggled to make critical field goals, limiting the Brahmas’ ability to put points on the scoreboard using their kicking game.
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