No. 19 – San Antonio Brahmas | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Kicker | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Limón, Costa Rica | December 2, 1996||||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 172 lb (78 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Port St. Lucie (FL) | ||||||||||||||
College: | UCF (2015–2016) | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||||
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As an administrator: | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||||||||||
Career UFL statistics as of Week 2, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Player stats at CFL.ca |
Deestroying | |
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YouTube information | |
Also known as | Deestroying |
Channels | Deestroying |
Years active | 2015–present |
Genres | |
Subscribers | 5.85 million (Deestroying) |
Last updated: April 15th, 2024 |
Donald De La Haye (born December 2, 1996), also known online as Deestroying, is a Costa Rican-American YouTuber and professional American football kicker for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at the University of Central Florida (UCF). De La Haye is known for his videos demonstrating his kicking ability as well as his sports-related skits and vlogs talking about his life journey. He initially came into public attention while in college when the NCAA controversially banned him for profiting off his name and YouTube videos, which sparked reform for student athlete compensation. [1]
De La Haye traveled with his family from Costa Rica to the United States at the age of seven, spending the rest of his youth in Port St. Lucie, Florida. [2] He played for the football team at the University of Central Florida as their kickoff specialist and holder from 2015 to 2016. He was backup placekicker behind Matthew Wright and De La Haye also played some wide receiver. De La Haye was a marketing major at UCF. [3] [4]
In 2017, De La Haye drew attention when the NCAA told him to delete or demonetize his YouTube channel in order to stay on the football team, as the NCAA at that time forbid its athletes from profiting off their athletic ability aside from their scholarships. He was also not allowed to have his likeness or name in any of his videos if he decided to continue the channel. Faced with this dilemma, De La Haye ultimately chose to continue his channel normally, at the cost of his scholarship and NCAA eligibility. [4] [5] [6] De La Haye sued UCF over this matter in July 2018, settling in November 2018 to finish his education there. Since then, he has made amends with UCF, attending multiple games with on-field passes and posting footage of himself at games. Additionally, coach Gus Malzahn and his coaching staff have invited him to multiple football-related events. [7] [2] [8]
De La Haye's case has been one of several major incidents in which NCAA athletes are barred from profiting off their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) and allowing student athlete compensation. Legislation has since been issued in a few states, including California and De La Haye's home state of Florida, in an attempt to allow student athletes to profit while in school. [9] [1]
While removed from the active UCF football team roster, De La Haye put more focus on his Deestroying YouTube channel, which he started as a teenager in 2015. Evolving from skits on football stereotypes and kicker trick shot videos, the channel has also featured gaming videos, skits impersonating National Football League players such as Odell Beckham Jr., Tom Brady and JuJu Smith-Schuster, actual collaborations with players such as Smith-Schuster, Marquette King, Cam Newton, Antonio Brown, and Tyreek Hill and partnerships with the NFL and other sports organizations to create content. The channel has since surpassed 5.8 million subscribers after having just 94,000 when De La Haye left UCF. [10]
De La Haye has also collaborated with other YouTube personalities such as Logan Paul, competing in the latter's "Challenger Games" in July 2019. [11]
After years of advocating for an NFL team to sign him through his videos, De La Haye was signed by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League on May 19, 2019. [12] [13] The signing resulted in over 15,000 new followers on the Argonauts' official Instagram account. [14] He appeared in both preseason games, making his one field goal attempt from a distance of 16 yards, and recording one punt for 46 yards. De La Haye was signed to the practice roster to begin the season. [15] [14] Due to limits on American players allowed on the roster, the Argonauts later placed De La Haye on the Suspended list in order to allow him to be free of team obligations and continue to upload videos consistently, which, according to De La Haye, generated more income than being on the practice squad. [16] [17]
De La Haye continued making YouTube videos that display him practicing kicks, in the ultimate goal of making the NFL. In 2021, De La Haye posted a video in which he got invited to work out for the NFL Scouting Combine. De La Haye also won the Kohls Pro Combine kickoff competition in 2021. [18]
On January 30, 2024, De La Haye was signed by the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League, [19] replacing John Parker Romo, who had declined to return to the Brahmas after a successful 2023 season. [20] De La Haye faced an open competition with Matt Ammendola for the position. [21] On March 10, 2024, the Brahmas released Ammendola, designating De La Haye as their starting kicker for the 2024 season. [22]
De La Haye led the UFL in kickoff yardage in his opening week of play. [21] He was effectively a kickoff specialist for his first two games of the season, as the Brahmas did not attempt any field goals in those games and the league does not allow kicking for extra points. [23] He was placed on injured reserve on April 8, 2024, following multiple neck fractures he sustained attempting a tackle on a kickoff return. [24] [25]
In April 2022, De La Haye signed with FaZe Clan. [26] He played in a flag football game with FaZe Clan in the 2022 Pro Bowl.
De La Haye was also a co-owner of the FCF Glacier Boyz of Fan Controlled Football, along with Quavo, Richard Sherman, and Adin Ross.
Chad Owens Sr. is an American former professional gridiron football wide receiver and kick returner who played for three years in the National Football League (NFL) and nine years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Owens played college football at Hawaii. He spent six seasons playing for the Toronto Argonauts, and has also been a member of the Montreal Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Nicholas Ryan Novak is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at Maryland and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005.
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball must pass through the vertical plane of the goal, which is the area above the crossbar and between the uprights or, if above the uprights, between their outside edges. American football requires that a field goal must only come during a play from scrimmage while Canadian football retains open field kicks and thus field goals may be scored at any time from anywhere on the field and by any player. The vast majority of field goals, in both codes, are placekicked. Drop-kicked field goals were common in the early days of gridiron football but are almost never attempted in modern times. A field goal may also be scored through a fair catch kick, but this is also extremely rare. In most leagues, a successful field goal awards three points.
Justin Charles Medlock is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning consensus All-American honors in 2006. The Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Medlock also played in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers, as well as the Toronto Argonauts, Edmonton Eskimos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.
Corey Jermaine Chamblin is an American football coach who is the safeties coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He was previously the defensive backs coach for the San Antonio Brahmas. He is a former professional gridiron football defensive back and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 1999. He played college football at Tennessee Tech. As a player, Chamblin has also been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, Rhein Fire, and Indianapolis Colts.
Troy "Diesel" Michael Davis is a former American football player. Davis played college football at UCF. He was signed by the New York Jets in 2013 as an undrafted free agent. Davis also spent time with the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL while also having stints with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
Lirim Hajrullahu is a Kosovar-born Canadian gridiron football placekicker for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He became a Grey Cup champion with the Argonauts after kicking the game-winning field goal in the 105th Grey Cup game (2017) and is a two-time CFL East Division All-Star. Hajrullahu played CIS football at Western Ontario and attended Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Darius Phillips is an American football cornerback for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Western Michigan and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Ryan Santoso is an American football placekicker for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Minnesota.
Don Hageman III is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at San Diego State.
Nate Holley is an American football safety who is a free agent. Holley played high school football at Whitmer High School in Toledo, Ohio. He played NCAA football at Kent State. He has also been a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Nebraska Danger, Los Angeles Rams, and Calgary Stampeders.
Matthew Wright is an American football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Wright is known for breaking the Jacksonville Jaguars' 20-game losing streak, when he scored two fourth quarter field goals, including a game-winning 53 yarder in an NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins in London. Wright played college football at UCF where he was a member of the undefeated 2017 team that was selected as National Champions by the Colley Matrix.
Tim Ward is an American football linebacker for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for Old Dominion.
Matt Ammendola is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State. After going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, he has played for the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Houston Texans.
Tavante Beckett is an American football linebacker for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and Marshall.
Ramiz Ahmed is an American football kicker for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Nevada. He signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2020 but was released prior to the season. He played for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL) in 2022 and currently holds the record for the longest field goal made in USFL history.
Christopher Dunn is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at NC State.
John Parker Romo is an American football placekicker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Arkansas, Tulsa, and Virginia Tech. He has also played for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL, where he was selected to the All-XFL team following the 2023 XFL season. He is also the all time leader of field goals in the XFL.
The 2024 UFL season is the first season of the United Football League (UFL), which was created following the merger of the XFL and USFL, and the fifth season in the combined history of the two leagues, following the 2020 XFL season, 2022 USFL season, and separate 2023 seasons for both the USFL and XFL.
Jacob Bates is an American football placekicker for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college soccer for Central Arkansas, and college football for Texas State and Arkansas. Bates holds the record for the longest successful UFL field goal at 64 yards. Bates has also played for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL).
Last year, a kicker at UCF gave up his scholarship rather than stop making money off his profitable YouTube channel, which threatened to make him ineligible.