The Dallas Cowboys have signed USFL kicker and Plano Senior High School alum Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey was kicking for the Birmingham Stallions after starring as a soccer player at the University of Notre Dame and a brief stint in Major League Soccer with Toronto FC.
Aubrey spent two seasons with Birmingham, where he was part of back-to-back USFL championship teams and was among the leaders at the kicking position throughout the league. In 2022, he finished second in field goal percentage behind Cole Murphy of the Michigan Panthers, and he was one of two kickers to make all of his extra-point attempts in 2023.
He also led the league in extra-point attempts both years in a league that allows teams to keep their offense on the field and attempt two- and three-point conversions.
Aubrey is the second player the Cowboys have signed from the USFL in the past two years, both on special teams. The team added former TCU star wide receiver and kick returner KaVontae Turpin from the New Jersey Generals last offseason. Turpin only caught one pass last season but became Dallas’ primary kick returner.
The Cowboys’ kicking game was inconsistent last season. While Brett Maher made 90.6% of his field goals in the regular season and was around the league average for extra points, he missed five extra points in Dallas’ two playoff games — including four in the wildcard win over Tampa Bay.
Maher was a free agent this offseason and has not yet signed with any NFL team. Aubrey joins Tristan Vizcaino as the two players in competition for the job as the Cowboys get closer to the start of training camp.
The Cowboys also had a competition between Maher, Lirim Hajrullahu, and Jonathan Garibay last year. None of the three made the team’s initial 53-man roster, but Maher was added back to the roster before the season started.
Dallas begins training camp in Oxnard, California, on July 24 and kicks off its preseason schedule against the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 12 at AT&T Stadium.
