Popular YouTube star Donald “Deestroying” De La Haye arrived in the UFL with a big splash. But his premature exit following a season-ending injury landed with an even bigger thud. Now De La Haye has expressed interest in returning to the UFL. Is “Deestroying” about to make his comeback?
Bolstered by his 5.81 million YouTube subscribers and 4.7 million followers on TikTok, De La Haye was a well-known media sensation before he was invited to try out as the San Antonio Brahmas kicker. Dreaming of an NFL career, the former collegiate field goal kicker gave up college ball to pursue his YouTube channel. Project NFL chronicled his quest to become a professional football player.
The channel featured clips of interviews with NFL players along with De La Haye participating in one-on-one kicking challenges. The channel’s popularity granted him media access to star players including Tom Brady, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Tyreek Hill, however, it didn’t bring him any closer to an actual NFL playing career.
An Invitation Out Of The Blue
But that changed with an invitation from Brahmas general manager Marc Lillibridge to try out to become San Antonio’s kicker. Under the expert coaching of Wade Phillips, the Brahmas were predicted to be one of the UFL’s premier teams in their inaugural season. Suddenly, De La Haye’s dream of an NFL future appeared within reach.
De La Haye showed up at training camp eager to battle former NFL kicker Matt Ammendola for the Brahmas starting assignment. Ammendola’s veteran experience provided an edge, but De La Haye’s powerful leg strength was the determining factor. De La Haye was 7 out of 7 on kicks over 50 yards. On March 10, 2024, De La Haye was informed he would be the Brahma’s kicker.
Although Lillibridge expressed concerns over whether De La Haye would prioritize his UFL commitments over his YouTube channel, he was convinced to give him the opportunity. De La Haye documented his success on YouTube and his UFL career was off to the races.
A Short-Lived UFL Career
The team didn’t attempt any field goals in the Brahma’s season opener against the D.C. Defenders on March 31st. Instead, De La Haye’s sole contribution to their victory was as the kickoff specialist. In week 2, in a game against the Memphis Showboats, De La Haye was injured during a kickoff return when he tackled a defender downfield. Days later, De La Haye was diagnosed with multiple neck fractures and placed on injured reserve by the Brahmas. It was a promising debut cut short and a professional football dream put on hold.
Is De La Haye Ready for A Comeback?
Now fully recovered from his injuries, De La Haye has expressed interest in returning to the UFL. In a recent post on X by United Football Media, https://x.com/The_UFM, De La Haye stated he was “leaning towards” a return but that he had some conditions for that to happen.
Those conditions involved a more flexible practice schedule to allow more time for his lucrative YouTube Filming schedule. De La Haye said the one thing he didn’t like about his experience in the UFL was that it interfered with his YouTube career. The demanding UFL schedule made it difficult for De La Haye to “devote time to his craft.
But given Lillibridge’s initial reservations about De La Haye’s true priorities, “Deestroying’s” comeback with the Brahmas organization might not happen after all.
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