Placekicker Donald De La Haye works out in San Antonio Brahmas training camp. (YouTube)
One of the three goals former San Antonio Brahmas Head Coach Hines Ward had for the team in its inaugural 2023 season was to have the best special teams in the XFL. While the rest of the season may not have gone as planned for the 3-7 Brahmas, their special teams was indeed one of, if not the best in the league. As evidence, they were the only team to have their three core special teams performers sign NFL contracts.
Kicker John Parker Romo, a member of the All-XFL Team, signed with the Detroit Lions in May and also spent time on the practice squad of the Chicago Bears. Punter Brad Wing was called upon in late September to play in two games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in place of the injured Pressley Harvin. And long snapper Rex Sunahara competed in Steelers training camp for that job, eventually losing out to former Dallas Renegade Christian Kuntz.
Wing and Sunahara are back for a second go-round in San Antonio, but they’ll be without Romo, who opted against returning to spring football. Instead, he wanted to find an alternate route back to the NFL. His decision paid off yesterday, as he signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
Replacing Romo in San Antonio is Donald De La Haye, better known as YouTube star “Deestroying.” He won the kicking battle in an upset over Matt Ammendola. De La Haye has not kicked professionally since a brief stint in the CFL in 2019. Even with Ward out as coach and Wade Phillips in, the Brahmas will look to once again pace the league, this time the UFL, in its special teams play.
“I think I’m spoiled, I can’t say enough positive things about the three specialists we have with us, especially Brad and Rex, they’re leaders on the football team,” Brahmas special teams coordinator and receivers coach Payton Pardee told the media on Wednesday. Pardee followed Wade Phillips over from Houston and is in his first year coordinating special teams at the pro level.
The mentality to be the best starts at the top, and according to De La Haye and Wing, Pardee has set them up for success not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. “He cares a lot about us,” De La Haye said of his coordinator. “Something that stands out to me, every time we break a meeting or a huddle or anything, he tells us that he loves us. Playing for a coach that really cares about you, wants you to be successful, wants you to do well, it’s an amazing feeling. I’ve played for some coaches in the past where I didn’t necessarily feel that way.”
Wing, one of a handful of players who survived the staff change from last year, also spoke highly of Pardee and the other coaches. “I feel so lucky because last year we had a great coaching staff and this year it’s great as well,” he said. “Coach Pardee is unbelievable, high energy…I just feel super-lucky to have landed in a situation that has gone this smooth so far.”
While there were plenty of people skeptical of San Antonio’s motives for bringing De La Haye to camp, he proved any doubters wrong with his performance over the last few weeks. “The film says it all, but I feel like I was a little more consistent,” he said in response to a question about his battle with Ammendola. “My kickoffs definitely set me apart. We also had a crucial field goal day where I went 7-for-7 with a long of 58. (The) whole team was gathered around me, too, screaming, yelling, doing their thing. And I did my thing, too.”
A former kickoff specialist in college, De La Haye was thought to have an advantage in that area. Pardee confirmed that kickoff ability played a role in the decision-making process. “We had two really talented kickers,” he said. “That was a tough decision for us. Ultimately we began to see a separation in the kickoff world.”
While the end of the competition has given De La Haye a bit of a respite from that grind, it hasn’t stopped him from working at his craft. “…There’s a slight relief because competition setting is a lot different…we’re splitting reps…we’re conforming to each other’s schedules and different routines. I definitely feel a lot more freedom mentally, physically, I’m able to lock in more with my unit and get our routine down.
“I want to prove every single day that I am the man for this job. I want to do my best every single day…” To do that, he’s leaned on the experience of his battery-mates, Sunahara and Wing. “The way they’ve helped me get through camp has been priceless,” De La Haye said. “They’re kinda teaching me the ropes. They’ve taught me how to conduct myself as a pro.”
Wing’s career plan? Keep kicking until they lock the doors on him. “I’m going to do this until they tell me I’m not allowed to do it anymore,” he said. “I’m going to do this until I physically can’t.” That attitude brought Wing full-circle in 2023, signing with the Steelers and getting to kick in a regular season NFL game for the first time in six years.
“It was like a dream for me,” he said of his return to the Steel City, where he punted in 2014. “I love that place (Pittsburgh), that place will always be very dear to me.”
Wing’s motivation for continuing to play football at 33 years of age is his son. “Sharing these experiences with my son is what it’s all about for me,” he said. “…That’s the main reason as to why I came back to the UFL this year is because I know my son just had a blast watching me last year.”
After leading the XFL in gross punting average (by more than two full yards) and hitting the longest punt in the league last season (72 yards), Wing returns to a slightly different specialist room. However, he has embraced newcomer De La Haye as his teammate, noting that he earned the kicking job with his performance through camp.
“I have a 10-year-old son so I was well aware of Deestroying before we came here,” Wing joked. “…That kid has come in and exceeded everyone’s expectations…Everyone knows he’s a talented kicker but he’s been able to show that in team settings and pressure situations. He deserves credit for how he’s come in and handled himself as a professional.”
Specialists are often a tight-knit lot, working off to the side together in practice and generally being around each other more than perhaps any other position group. Wing was able to pick right back up where he left off last year with his snapper, Sunahara. “To have the work that Rex and I have under our belt already…I think within one day we felt we were back to normal as far as the operation.”
In a league where head coaches are afforded only eight assistants on staff, some of those assistants have to double-up on responsibilities. Pardee finds himself doing just that, coaching receivers as well as coordinating the special teams. It’s clear, however, that special teams will not be a forgotten phase of the game in San Antonio. Pardee often referred to the analytics and data that he has dived into in preparation for this role.
For instance, he noted the average starting field position on kickoffs last year for USFL teams was the 37-yard line. The average kickoff landed at the 10-yard line, forcing players on coverage teams to cover a lot more ground than they did in the XFL last season. “That’s a massive difference,” Pardee said in terms of the special teams changes XFL teams are facing.
“Our goal is to try to put our defense on the field in the best possible position in an exchange like that,” he said, referring to kickoff coverage. “What it really challenges me and the other special teams coaches in this league, you need to make sure you have the right body types out there (to cover kicks) but simultaneously you want to make sure you’re calculated with who you’re using on the field, how often you’re using them, and when you’re using them.”
Pardee noted that with a smaller active roster on gamedays, and the more effort exerted on kickoff coverage with this format, teams may need to rotate players through coverage more often, meaning more players will have to practice those roles and be prepped for them.
Pardee also discussed working with other coaches on staff and with San Antonio general manager Marc Lillibridge in finding the right mix of players to contribute on offense and defense, as well as special teams. The ability to be a factor on special teams will play an important role for coaches as they make the final eight cuts to the 50-man roster on March 23. “It’s finding that sweet spot of guys that are going to be contributors on ‘O’ and ‘D’ and simultaneously providing as much value as they can on teams,” he said.
“My role is really just to provide the facts, let the coaching staff know what each of those guys individually, what their skill-sets are and where we can use them on special teams. I think we do a really, really good job as a staff of working together when we make roster decisions.”
Roster decisions for coverage and return players may still be in flux, but Pardee likes the three core specialists that he has. “All three of our specialists, it’s a phrase that’s tossed around a lot, but they’re truly professionals,” he said. “I can’t say enough positive things about Brad and Rex and their chemistry. That has been a tremendous asset for us.”
In a 10-game season, wins and losses are amplified, especially those that come down to a last-second field goal, field position on a punt, or the placement of a snap. Every game matters that much more to whether a team makes the playoffs and has a chance to compete for the inaugural UFL Championship in St. Louis, or sits at home and watches on TV.
Finding competent specialists in a spring league is therefore incredibly important. The Brahmas had that last year; even with a new kicker and new special teams coordinator, they appear on track to compete for that title of “best special teams in the league” once again.
