Case deBruijn (born April 11, 1960) is a Dutch former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

punter and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. He played one game in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

as well as two seasons in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) for the Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

and was drafted in the eighth round (214th overall) of the

1982 NFL draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York She ...

by the Chiefs.

Early life and education

Case deBruijn was born on April 11, 1960, in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was taught by his father, a well-known amateur

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player, how to kick a

soccer ball A football (also known as football ball, soccer ball, or association football ball specifically in the United Kingdom) is the ball used in the sport of association football. The name of the ball varies according to whether the sport is called " ...

as a toddler. When young, his family moved to America, settling in a suburban community in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. He attended Stonewall Jackson High School in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

as well as

and punter, earning all-county or all-district honors in three consecutive seasons. DeBruijn's high school coach, impressed by his kicking, sent several letters to college coaches about deBruijn after the latter graduated from the school. One letter reached

Tom Jewell Thomas Melvin Jewell (born 13 January 1991) is an English cricketer known for his right-handed batting and right-arm fast-medium bowling. He was born in Reading, Berkshire. Jewell made his debut in first-class cricket for Surrey in a match ...

, an assistant football coach at

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, who gave deBruijn a tryout. He performed well enough in his tryout to be invited to stay as a walk-on. By the middle of his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year, 1978, he was doing well enough to start at both punter and placekicker. DeBruijn ended up earning first-team all-conference honors that year, the first of three times he would be given that honor. He was the 1978 national runner-up in average yards per-punt. DeBruijn again was runner-up in punting average as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, but the

1979 Idaho State Bengals football team The 1979 Idaho State Bengals football team represented the Idaho State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Bud Hake, the Bengals compiled an overall record of 0– ...

compiled a 0–11 record and deBruijn missed the all-conference team for the only time in his collegiate career. As a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

, deBruijn led the United States with a 48 yards-per-punt average and was named first-team all-conference at both punter and kicker. An honorable mention All-American, deBruijn began receiving attention from pro scouts at this time. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, deBruijn helped the Bengals compile a 12–1 record and capture the Division I-AA national championship, leading the nation in punting with a 45.9 average, the third highest in FCS/I-AA history, and earning first-team All-America honors as well as first-team all-conference honors. He was ranked the number two punter/placekicker entering the

only behind

Rohn Stark Rohn Taylor Stark (born May 4, 1959, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States), who grew up in Fifty Lakes, Minnesota, is a former American football punter who played 16 seasons in the National Football League, 13 of those with the Baltimore / Ind ...

from

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. "It seemed that all kinds of people were interested in me," deBruijn said. "Teams were sending scouts out to watch me and /nowiki>quarterback Mike Machurek">Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

Early life and education

Professional career

Later life

References