Doug Brien wasn’t a kicker.
He was an all-league soccer player, who captained California’s De La Salle High School to a 1989 section championship.
It wasn’t until his senior year that he first stepped on a football field, taking his father’s suggestion to play for a legendary coach (Bob Ladouceur) who would inspire a movie (“When the Game Stands Tall”) and produce the longest winning streak in the history of American football.
At the University of California, Brien was a walk-on, spending two years on the bench behind an All-American.