You’ll never meet a punter quite like Brad Wing. It’s particularly evident the second you look at him.
From the diamond cross hoop earring hanging from his left ear to a heart-shaped face tattoo that he got on a whim, Wing’s got swag, and lots of it.
“I wanted a tattoo on my face, and then I didn’t want one that would scare people away, so I figured a love heart might be good,” Wing said.
Wing sticks out at a position that is regularly overlooked on the gridiron. He’s been that way since he first got to LSU.
Wing attended a Tigers punting camp in 2009 before his senior year of high school. He stood out like a sore thumb.
“I was out there in like these short Australian shorts,” Wing said. “I had long hair. I had a nose ring in everyone’s like, ‘Who the hell is this kid?'”
Despite his looks, Wing could punt and punt well. His efforts were enough to get the attention of LSU head coach Les Miles.
But Wing, an 18-year-old kid freshly landed from Melbourne, Australia, didn’t even recognize him.
“I remember Coach Miles came up and introduced himself to me,” Wing said. “By that time, I just knew the legend of him, but I didn’t really know his face and stuff like that. So I didn’t know it was him when he was shaking my hand. But then when he walked away, the guys were like, ‘That was Les Miles, the coach,’ and I was like, ‘Oh shit.'”
Miles’ Tigers recruited Wing in the most unimaginable way possible.
When the Sandringham Dragons cut him, Wing knew that playing Australian football was no longer an option. So Wing looked to his father, David, for inspiration.
During his career, David punted for the Scottish Claymores in the World League of American Football, later renamed NFL Europe.
“My dad had a background in it, so he was like, ‘You can go over to America to do [an] exchange student program and play football for your senior year of high school,'” Wing said. “So that’s kind of what started everything.”
When David was 26, he and his four friends took spring break to the States, specifically Florida. There, he met a family living in Baton Rouge with whom he stayed in contact over the years; the Wings even came down to the Bayou to experience Christmas one year.
So, after finishing his junior year of high school, Wing packed his things and boarded a plane by himself to pursue his dream of becoming a professional athlete.
Wing attended Parkview Baptist High School in Baton Rouge. During his senior year, Parkview played Dutchtown High head-to-head on a Friday night, which had some of Louisiana’s best recruits, including future NFL safeties Landon Collins and Eric Reid.
Wing’s parents were in town for the game. It’s where his mom, Kathi, met Miles’ wife, Kathy, by sitting beside each other in the stands.
“At halftime, I would go out and practice punts, and, you know, I’m hitting them, like 50, 60 yards. So it kind of became a thing at halftime,” Wing said. “Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, watch the punter. Watch the punter.'”
Kathy comments on Wing. As the LSU head coach’s wife, she’s impressed.
“So my mom was like, ‘Oh, really? That’s my son,'” Wing said.
Wing notices a freshman wide receiver at a Tigers practice a year later. It’s impossible not to.
“He came in early as a freshman, so he still should have been in high school, but he was winning every race, every conditioning drill,” Wing said. “He was in amazing shape for a younger. Everyone’s like, ‘What the hell?'”
That he was Odell Beckham Jr. He flew around the football field with an unprecedented amount of joy.
“He had all this energy, and that’s what I kind of saw and latched on to,” Wing said. “Just the fun energy always dancing around.”
The two’s friendship took off when they roomed together the following year. It seemed like the perfect match.
While Beckham has built a career on highlight plays, so has Wing. He’s had a knack for it over the years, but the practice originated in Death Valley.
It’s 2011, and No. 1 LSU is hosting No. 17 Florida with a 14-0 with 25 seconds left in the first quarter. Wing is lined up to punt before a flag flies.
As the Tigers special team unit runs to the sideline for the quick 30-second timeout, LSU tight end Chase Clement pleads his case to call a fake punt to Miles, who dismisses his idea.
That’s when Clement goes up to Wing.
“He’s like, ‘Bro, you can run it,’ Wing said. “I’m like, ‘You crazy as hell. I’m not about to just run.'”
However, once Wing retook the field, his heart had changed. He looks up, sees the Gators back off, and instinct takes over.
Wing tucks it and runs untouched down the left sideline for a 52-yard touchdown.
“I lowkey blacked out,” Wing said. “I felt like I didn’t remember it instantly.”
However, due to a new college football rule, excessive celebration during a play nullifies the entirety of it. On his way to the end zone, Wing threw his arms up.
But can you blame him? He’s a 19-year-old freshman punter from Melbourne, Australia, who just scored on a 52-yard fake punt scamper. It’s the first ruling of its kind in college football history.
“We had the same officiating crew next week, and they were so apologetic like, ‘Man, we shouldn’t have called that. We should have let you go,'” Wing said. “I was like, ‘I’ve been on TV all week.'”
Wing’s always had a good attitude when things didn’t go his way. He’s had no other option but to.
Wing was suspended for the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl for “academic misconduct” and an “undisclosed violation of team rules,” but he was kicked from the program for a series of failed drug tests.
“It was something that I was kind of struggling with,” Wing said. “Knew I was getting tested, still kind of playing with fire, and then ultimately, it led to me getting booted out of there. It was a tough time, a real moment to, like, look in the mirror and shit.”
Wing declared for the 2013 NFL Draft but never heard his name called. In 2014, the Pittsburgh Steelers called Wing and offered him a gig to punt and hold on field goals and extra points.
In 2015, Wing was traded to the New York Giants for a seventh-round pick, where he spent three years reunited with Beckham.
Wing had his dream job punting in the capital of the world. He was even noticeable enough to get the attention of rapper Nicki Minaj, a Giants fan, who named-dropped Wing on “Skrt on Me” produced by Calvin Harris. Nothing could bring him down until his play began to suffer.
Wing remembers the day he was cut by New York in 2018. How could he not? Wing was in Australia when his agent called.
“That was a tough time, man,” Wing said. “That was my dream job, you know, and that’s the worst thing you’re thinking of.”
Wing had an off-year in the Big Apple, a known cutthroat sports market. He knew it was only a matter of time.
“When it happened, even though it was a shock, I wasn’t truly surprised,” Wing said. “That was a tough time, just because I feel like I wasted a great opportunity.”
Lost, Wing searched for an opportunity and found one with the Memphis Express of the AAF, a Silicon Valley-esque startup spring football league.
“I still wanted to play, but I wasn’t really fully all bought in,” Wing said.
Unfortunately for Wing, the choice of continuing to play football or not was already made for him.
After only eight weeks of play, the AAF went under. Once again, Wing was left without a job or direction. He didn’t know what to do.
“I remember just feeling like I was doomed,” Wing said. “I had no escape route. There [were] no answers out there. I thought I was the only one going through what I was going through.”
But in his time of need, his old friend Beckham was with him every step of the way.
“He just would always remind me of who I am and tell me I’m the best punter in the world, and just gassed me up,” Wing said. “He would never let my flame fully burn out, even when it was close.”
During his near half-a-decade hiatus from football, Wing made sure to work on himself, specifically on getting sober. He refused to let it ruin his life again.
After a three-year hiatus, the XFL returned in 2023, giving Wing a second chance at his football life with the San Antonio Brahmas.
“It’s been a blessing, man,” Wing said.
If you had to ask Wing about one specific play across his football career, he already knows which one you’re talking about.
“The fake field goal?” Wing said.
On 2024’s UFL opening weekend, San Antonio is iced while leading the D.C. Defender 14-9 right before halftime. Unlike Miles, Brahmas head coach Wade Phillips gave Wing the green light to run a fake field goal.
“I didn’t even have time to think about it,” Wing said. “I was like, ‘Oh shit. Let’s do it.'”
So, Wing takes the snap, rolls to his right and drops it into the arms of San Antonio center Alex Maulette for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
“It’s funny because we ran it in practice, [and] never really completed it in practice,” Wing said. “The way it worked out in the game was I was never supposed to throw to the actual guy I threw it to, but yeah, it ended up working out good.”
Punters have never been known for their glamorous reputation. They’re supposed to go out there and kick a ball. How hard could it be?
However, Wing does much more than punt. He can be a dynamic playmaker who can flip a game when he steps on the field.
Last year, Wing met Brahmas kicker Donald De La Haye, known on YouTube to his over six million subscribers as Deestroying. Wing knew who he was; his 11-year-old son, Bentley, frequently watches De La Haye’s videos.
Like his connection with Beckham, Wing and De La Haye instantly hit it off. It was enough for De La Haye to invite Wing to be a full-time co-host on his podcast, “Kickin’ It With Dee.” The two are working on putting together a second season during San Antonio training camp before the UFL season kicks off at the end of the month.
“He’s told me he thinks I’ll be good for that kind of stuff and just helped me out with a lot of opportunities,” Wing said. “So I’m super grateful for him and just trying to learn as much as I can about all that business and all that stuff from him because, obviously, he’s a big name in that industry.”
Talking to Wing feels like chatting with your charming uncle about his younger days. You could spend hours and hours of an afternoon asking him about his life experiences on and off the football field.
Unlike other players suiting up to play in the UFL this spring, Wing’s goal isn’t necessarily to return to the NFL. He enjoyed a second stint with Pittsburgh in 2023, where he played in his first NFL action since 2017.
The Steelers released Wing after two games and resigned with the Brahmas.
“I just figured I owed it to the game,” Wing said. “The game has changed my life, been really good for me, and I felt like those last couple of years in New York, I wasn’t really given the game the respect it deserves.”
At this point, Wing is playing with house money. What does he have to lose?
“The main goal was to kind of just finish the football chapter whenever that comes,” Wing said. “Finish it the right way.”
Wing feels that his football journey is coming to an end. Another shot in the NFL would be gravy poured on top of an already filling bowl of stuffed mashed potatoes; it’s just extra.
“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Wing said. “I think I’m at the point now that I’ll reevaluate after every year.”
Wing now plays for Bentley, whom he raises as a single dad. He appreciates being able to share his football experiences with his son.
“Oh, he’s everything, bro. He’s sent to me straight from above, bro,” Wing said. “He’s what keeps me straight on tough days; he’s all I think about, and he turns everything around.”
Wing used to be able to recount what day of his sobriety journey that he was on.
“It’s been that many,” Wing said. “I don’t even know off the top anymore.”
But now, 1191 days later, Wing is forced to reach for his phone.
“I promise you it’s all worth it. It’s definitely worth it,” Wing said. “It takes a little bit of work, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
