It’s official: Deestroying is returning to the UFL. The San Antonio Brahmas have re-signed Donald De La Haye Jr. – also known as “Deestroying”, to come back as their kicker in 2025.
The story is far from over.
Welcome back, @Deestroying 😤 pic.twitter.com/zhSOiUjYgb
— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) October 29, 2024
For those who may not be familiar with Deestroying, he’s had quite the journey as an athlete, and a Youtube icon. He played at UCF for a few years, primarily as a kickoff specialist, attempting only one extra point.
Things got controversial for Deestroying when he started his Youtube channel. The NCAA didn’t want him to continue making money off of his videos, and Donald refused to take his channel down. This led to Haye Jr. losing his eligibility to play in the NCAA, with his scholarship revoked.
Since then, Deestroying hasn’t played much football. He did have a CFL opportunity with the Toronto Argonauts as a punter and a kicker in 2019. However, he only remained on the roster through preseason, ultimately landing on the suspended list.
BREAKING: YouTube Star Donald De La Haye Jr., aka "Deestroying", is signing with the San Antonio Brahmas of the #UFL, he announced in a video posted today.@Deestroying has been training with Nick Novak & Gary Zauner recently as a kicker. Interesting development here. #XFL pic.twitter.com/Gdpaskshml
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) January 30, 2024
Enter the UFL. Donald has continued to train over the past few years, and received an opportunity to come to camp with the Brahmas. He ended up beating out Matt Ammendola for the position, and was the starting kicker to begin the year.
"He cares about us a lot…playing for a coach that wants you to do well is an amazing feeling."@Deestroying spoke on his relationship with Brahmas Special Teams Coordinator @CoachPardee, & his role in helping Donald earn the starting position as the @XFLBrahmas kicker. #UFL pic.twitter.com/XJ0kli0wVv
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) March 12, 2024
In week two, though, De La Haye made the mistake of tackling Trey Williams on a return. He broke his collarbone and bones in his neck, which ended his season.
Interestingly enough, Donald never even attempted a field goal in the UFL – something he’s yet to do professionally. Through two weeks, he was the UFL’s top kickoff specialist, but San Antonio didn’t give him a chance to kick outside of a 57 yard field goal in week one, which he missed. The kick didn’t count, due to a penalty that occurred on the play.
The #UFL kickoff rules require kickers to feature a big leg. We've heard ST coaches mention this time and time again leading up to the UFL season.
In week one, Deestroying (Donald De La Haye Jr.), led all kickers in YPA on kickoffs. His average distance (for five kicks) was… pic.twitter.com/4XOw2lmRe1
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) April 2, 2024
Now, De La Haye will have the chance to get back to playing professional football. Maybe, this time we’ll get to see him attempt some field goals. He’s clearly got enough talent in GM Marc Lillibridge’s eyes, who brings Donald back after releasing Ryan Santoso – his replacement – earlier this offseason.
What are your thoughts on Deestroying returning to the UFL? Will he live up to the hype? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
