Brandon Aubrey
Brandon Aubrey (born March 14, 1995) is an American multi-sport athlete who plays as a placekicker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He has played professional soccer as a defender. In 2017, he was drafted by Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and played for the club's reserve team before moving to Bethlehem Steel FC. Aubrey then switched to American football and played for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL) in 2022 and 2023 before being signed by the Cowboys in 2023.
Brandon Aubrey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Brandon Aubrey March 14, 1995 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Football career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 17 – Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Amateur soccer career
Dallas Texans 95 Red
Aubrey played with the Dallas Texans 95 Red club team from 2005 to 2010, captaining the team in 2008 all the way to 2010. During his time with the team, they won five State Cup titles and helped them become a regional finalist in 2009. In 2009 and 2010, they were Classic League grand champions, and in 2009, they were Premiere League West champions. They also won the 2008 Gothia Cup (Sweden), the 2009 Dallas Cup, the 2009 Disney Showcase, and the 2009 Tivoli Cup (Denmark).[1]
Plano Senior
Aubrey played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Plano Senior High School in Plano, Texas in 2010 and 2011. He was named Honorable Mention All-District as a freshman and First Team All-District as a sophomore.[1]
Dallas Texans SC
Aubrey played for the USSDA Dallas Texans SC from 2011 to 2013. He was named USSDA All-Select Team in 2011–12. They were U17 Disney Showcase champions twice.[1]
Notre Dame
Aubrey played four years of college soccer at the University of Notre Dame between 2013 and 2016, wherein 2016 Aubrey was named NSCAA Third Team All-American, NSCAA First Team All-South Region, First Team All-ACC, and NSCAA Academic All-American.[2]
Club soccer career
Toronto FC
Aubrey was selected in the first round (21st overall) of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC.[3] Aubrey made his professional debut on March 25, 2017, starting for Toronto's United Soccer League affiliate team, Toronto FC II, against the Phoenix Rising FC.[4]
Bethlehem Steel FC
Aubrey was released by Toronto at the end of their 2017 season, and subsequently signed with United Soccer League club Bethlehem Steel FC on January 10, 2018.[5] Bethlehem Steel released Aubrey at the end of the 2018 season.[6]
American football career
After being released from the Bethlehem Steel FC in 2018, Aubrey decided to use the degree he got at Notre Dame to become a software engineer. While watching an NFL game in 2019, a placekicker missed a field goal and his wife told him: "You could do that."[7] From 2019 to 2022, Aubrey worked with a former Mississippi State kicker and kicking coach Brain Egan three times a week.[8]
2022 season
Aubrey was drafted as a placekicker by the Birmingham Stallions in the 2022 USFL draft and made his debut as a professional American football player on April 16, 2022.[9] Aubrey played in all 10 games making 18 of his 22 field goal attempts (81.8%) and 22 of his 24 extra-point attempts (91.7%), which both lead the league. He also had a league-leading 55 kickoffs with a 66.5-yard average. On June 16, Aubrey was named to the inaugural All-USFL Team.[10] After winning the Divisional Finals, 31–17, the Stallions beat the Philadelphia Stars in the 2022 USFL Championship Game, 33–30. In the game, he was successful on two of his three attempts with a 42-yard long and made three of his four extra-point tries.[11]
2023 season
On July 21, 2023, Aubrey re-signed with the Stallions for the 2023 season.[12] He finished the season, 14-for-15 (93.3%) on field goals with a 49-yard long while also finishing with 35-for-35 (100.0%), both leading the league, on extra-points. He also added a league-leading 57 kickoffs and six touchbacks.[13] The Stallions finished the regular season with a 8–2 record, making them the champions of the South Division.[14] After winning the Divisional Finals against New Orleans Breakers, 47–22, the Stallions made it to their second-straight USFL Championship Game. During the game, Aubrey made all four of his extra-point attempts to help the Stallions win, 28–12.[15]
Dallas Cowboys
Aubrey's contract was terminated by the Stallions on July 3, 2023,[16] allowing him to sign with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League on July 6.[17] In his NFL debut, Aubrey connected on both of his field goal attempts with a long of 38 and made four of his five extra-point attempts in the Cowboys 40–0 blowout of the New York Giants.
Career statistics
College soccer
School | Season | Division | Apps | Goals |
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 2013 | Div. I | 14 | 0 |
2014 | 21 | 3 | ||
2015 | 20 | 3 | ||
2016 | 21 | 9 | ||
Career total | 76 | 15 |
Club soccer
Club | Season | League | ||
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Division | Apps | Goals | ||
Toronto II (loan) | 2017 | United Soccer League | 22 | 0 |
Bethlehem Steel | 2018 | United Soccer League | 27 | 0 |
Career total | 49 | 0 |
Professional football
Legend | |
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USFL champion | |
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
- Regular season
General | Field goals | PATs | Kickoffs | Points | |||||||||||
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Season | Team | League | GP | FGM | FGA | FG% | Blck | Long | XPM | XPA | XP% | KO | Avg | TBs | Pts |
2022 | BHAM | USFL | 10 | 18 | 22 | 81.8% | 0 | 49 | 22 | 24 | 91.7% | 55 | 66.5 | 7 | 76 |
2023 | BHAM | USFL | 10 | 14 | 15 | 93.3% | 0 | 49 | 35 | 35 | 100.0% | 57 | 70.1 | 6 | 77 |
2023 | DAL | NFL | 6 | 16 | 16 | 100.0% | 0 | 55 | 12 | 13 | 92.3% | 36 | 65.1 | 35 | 60 |
USFL career | 20 | 32 | 37 | 86.5% | 0 | 49 | 57 | 59 | 96.6% | 112 | 68.3 | 13 | 153 | ||
NFL career | 5 | 14 | 14 | 100.0% | 0 | 55 | 6 | 7 | 92.3% | 36 | 65.1 | 35 | 60 |
- Postseason
General | Field goals | PATs | Kickoffs | Points | |||||||||||
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Season | Team | League | GP | FGM | FGA | FG% | Blck | Long | XPM | XPA | XP% | KO | Avg | TBs | Pts |
2022 | BIR | USFL | 2 | 3 | 5 | 60.0% | 0 | 42 | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 12 | 64.9 | 0 | 16 |
2023 | BIR | USFL | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100.0% | 0 | 41 | 9 | 10 | 90.0% | 14 | 66.6 | 4 | 15 |
USFL career | 4 | 5 | 7 | 71.4% | 0 | 42 | 16 | 18 | 88.9% | 26 | 65.8 | 4 | 29 |
Career honors
Soccer
- 2016 NSCAA All-America Third Team
- 2016 CSN All-America Second Team
- 2016 NSCAA All-South Region First Team
- 2016 All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team
- 2016 NSCAA Scholar All-America First Team
- 2015 ACC Championship All-Tournament Team
References
- "Brandon Aubrey – Notre Dame Fighting Irish Athletics". Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- "Brandon Aubrey Bio :: Notre Dame Men's Soccer :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of Notre Dame Athletics". und.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- "Toronto FC "surprised" to see highly touted Brandon Aubrey fall to No. 21 | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- "Phoenix Rising FC vs Toronto FC II". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- "Bethlehem Steel FC Sign Defender Brandon Aubrey". philadelphiaunion.com. MLS. January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
- "Bethlehem Steel FC Announces Roster Moves with 2019 in Mind". Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- Dunau, Casey. "MLS to NFL: Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey completes 6-year journey". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- Kolb, Jeff. "Brandon Aubrey's journey from software engineer to Dallas Cowboys kicker". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- "Notre Dame futboler drafted by USFL team". Fighting Irish Wire. February 24, 2022.
- "2022 ALL-USFL TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS UNVEILED". The USFL.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- "Birmingham Stallions Vs Philadelphia Stars – July 3, 2022". The USFL.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- Miller, Luke. "Birmingham Stallions Re-Sign Four Players For 2024". USFLNewsRoom.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- "Former MLS draft pick, USFL player battling to become Cowboys' kicker for 2023 season". WFAA.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- "2023 USFL DIVISION STANDINGS". FoxSports.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- "New Orleans Breaks Vs Birmingham Stallions – June 25, 2023". TheUSFL.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- @USFLStallions (July 3, 2023). "Contract Terminated / Signing with NFL Team" (Tweet). Retrieved July 5, 2023 – via Twitter.
- Harris, Nick (July 6, 2023). "Cowboys Sign Kicker Brandon Aubrey From USFL". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
External links
- Media related to Brandon Aubrey at Wikimedia Commons
- Brandon Aubrey at Major League Soccer
- Brandon Aubrey at USL Championship
- Notre Dame bio