Dallas Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey embracing status as ‘best kicker in the league’
It hasn’t even been two years since Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey took the NFL by storm with his incredible story of going from soccer player to computer software engineer to one of the best kickers in the league.
It happened quickly for the Plano native, as the end of his soccer days and the beginning of his football days didn’t take long to play out. His rise from unknown off-the-street signee to one of the league’s best was even quicker.
Two years later, Aubrey has been able to keep the high praise coming. Fresh off a 64-yard game-tying field goal and a 46-yard game-winning field goal in Week 2 against the New York Giants, Aubrey has once again been under the spotlight around the team — even if it is still a weird feeling for someone who worked a usual 9-to-5 not even four years ago.
“I don’t know if you ever really get used to it,” Aubrey said. “I hate dealing with it, so I try and duck it as much as possible. When you get put in a moment like that, you have to go and answer it. I try my best to avoid it if I can.”
From an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” to winning his fourth NFC Special Teams player of the week award to having all of the cameras around his locker throughout the week at The Star in Frisco, Aubrey has had to embrace the spotlight a bit more as the years have gone by.
In his first season in 2023, Aubrey wouldn’t ever get caught up in the “best kicker in the league” talk. Instead, he would revert to saying he was trying to be the best version of him. But after the game Sunday, he changed that tune as the confidence has settled in.
“I believe I’m the best kicker in the league,” he said about his mindset walking up to kick the 64-yarder. “So what better spot to prove it?”
But don’t be too quick to mistake the confidence for ego.
Learning to deal with pressure
“I’ve never seen him change,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “It’s great to hear him say that, and I agree. I think he’s the best in the league. I mean what he did yesterday was just amazing to me, 64 yards to win it and then walking it off. He’s incredible. I’m big on confidence. I don’t know how you play this game without confidence. I think how you gain confidence is through practice and through repetition.”
The confidence and swagger that he’s built for himself is unique not only to the team, but also to him. As he recalls how his previous athletic career tumbled, he has now applied lessons along the way about how to deal with pressure. Now, he feels prepared for any situation.
“My career in soccer didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” he said. “A lot of that was not dealing with pressure properly, feeling like I didn’t belong. I had the imposter syndrome. Realizing and sitting back at my day job afterward and figuring out what went wrong, I committed to myself that I’ll never let that be the reason I don’t succeed again. I’d say it prepared me by making me realize you can’t behave that way and make it at this level.”
Learning how to find a process stemmed from advice he received from former 23-year NFL kicker John Carney. From listening to “White Horse” by Chris Stapleton every time he takes the field to going through the same pregame routine, Aubrey knows his success can be largely attributed to his consistency. Because if he is doing something so familiar, he knows it’ll be easy to get back on track when adversity strikes — if it ever does.
But off the field, life is a bit different. A quiet and reserved guy — unless you’re a close friend — the cameras, glitz and glamour are something he’s still getting used to. One of these days, he may even have to change his phone number.
“Off the field, it gets harder and harder the more you’re in the league,” Aubrey said. “The more things that they put on your plate, whether it’s interviews or just people reaching out on social media, all of the texts. All of the stuff that comes with success gets harder and harder as you get more successful.”
Always focused on next kick
Fortunately, his sanctuary is a familiar place.
“But on the field, it stays the same,” he said. “It’s kind of a sigh of relief now to get on the field and getting to perform the job duties.”
Also fortunately for Aubrey, life in the NFL moves quickly.
When the team steps between the lines at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon to take on the Chicago Bears, everything from a week ago goes out the window. Sure, the Cowboys being 1-1 instead of 0-2 can largely be attributed to Aubrey’s game-saving heroics, but that ball from last week will never leave his home trophy case.
Now, it will be about making room for new ones, however long his process and routine will allow him to do so.
“It’s something I’ve kind of honed throughout my years,” Aubrey said about the process. “Because it helps me be successful.”
