Banished by UW, Braunstein Went Out Kicking and Scheming — He Got the Last Laugh
Two weeks of the 2006 season remained when Washington coach Tyrone Willingham called his football team together. Among the order of business, he informed four players they would be honored as seniors in the final home game against Stanford.
This was no reward.
Starting kicker Michael Braunstein and the other Huskies singled out each had a season of eligibility left. Each player had planned to return for a fifth year.
Huh?
Willingham wanted them gone to open up their scholarships. They were stunned by this news.
"I came out of that meeting crying," Braunstein said. "It was reality — you don't want me anymore. I'm getting let go. You're playing with my life. I'm a pawn in your chess game."
To illustrate the dysfunctionality of Willingham's miserable four-year run in Seattle, in which the UW lost 37 of 48 football games, this moment was a telling example. The coach had a disconnect with his players throughout his time in charge.
The embattled Willingham coldly cut starting safety Chris Hemphill, reserve offensive lineman William Kava, substitute wide receiver Durrell Moss and Braunstein, with the latter receiving All-Pac-10 honorable-mention honors shortly thereafter.
The UW went out the following weekend and lost 20-3 to Stanford, looking listless against a 19-point underdog, clearly residue from the coach's actions. What a send-off.
"I refused to walk out as a senior on Senior Day," Braunstein said. "You lose your locker room at that point. You lose all the trust of your players with what you just did."
The kicker, however, would have the last laugh on this unexpected Husky break-up.
Michael Braunstein came away no fan of coach Tyrone Willingham.
UW photo
Braunstein transferred to Ohio University and put together such a productive final season that he was selected as the first-team All-MAC kicker and as a Lou Groza Award semifinalist.
He also earned a master's degree in sports administration from the nation's pre-eminent collegiate program on this subject and developed endless business connections.
He went on to kick professionally for the Tri-Cities Fever in the National Indoor Football League and the Portland Thunder in the Arena Football League.
Today, Braunstein lives in Portland, has a large family and operates multiple businesses, among them Adrenaline fundraising for high-school athletics and Buynow sales-payment technology.
It took him a while to warm up to the Huskies again, but he did. He had no sympathy whatsoever when Willingham was fired after going 0-12 in 2008.
"I felt bad for all my teammates, but I wasn't sad to see him not win — he did an 0-for," he said of the coach. "I was sour for a lot of years but I'm definitely over it. I finally became a fan and enjoyed it again."
Michael Braunstein was All-Pac-10 honorable-mention selection in 2006 for Washington.
Michael Braunstein photo
Braunstein, often described as overly brash and confident during his Washington football career, was heavily recruited when he emerged from Gilbert, Arizona. He sat in the offices of Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr and Tennessee's Phil Fullmer on his official visits.
He chose the UW after making a connection with coach Rick Neuheisel, who got down on one knee and held for him on kicks during the Husky football camp. Neuheisel purposely fumbled snaps to see how the young kicking prospect would react.
"His personality and my personality really meshed well together," the kicker said.
Braunstein was one of those who went through three UW coaches. For a 5-7 team in 2006, he connected on 10 of 12 field goals and all 32 of his extra-point tries. It still wasn't enough for Willingham to keep him.
Cut loose, he had a choice of going to Virginia Tech, which was known for having the nation's best special teams, or Ohio, which would satisfy both his football and academic needs.
He settled on the smaller school, which was coached by Frank Solich, who was fired two years earlier at Nebraska. He had his most fun in football playing for this team. His coach had his back, too.
"You got a raw deal at Washington and I got a raw deal at Nebraska," Solich told him. "I thought we'd fit well together."
Michael Braunstein was All-MAC first team and a Lou Groza Award semifinalist for Ohio in 2007.
Michael Braunstein photo
Braunstein converted on 20 of 24 field goals and all 38 extra points for his 6-6 MAC team. Overlapping with the two college teams, he made 20 3-pointers without a miss. He was one of 20 kickers nationally honored with Lou Groza recognition. Just two were from the Pac-10, representing Oregon and Arizona State. No Husky kicker was in the mix.
In and around his business pursuits, he kicked in the Tri-Cities, even encouraging the similarly banished Hemphill to come join him on the pro team. He played a couple of seasons, or until the commute from Portland and back got to him.
Out of the game for five years, he tried out for the Portland Thunder and won the job over 23 other guys. He played a season, separated his shoulder making a tackle and decided he was done in 2015.
By then, he had proved to everyone that he was a capable kicker worth keeping wherever he went.
"I'm a big believer everything happens for a reason," Braunstein said. "I've never spoken a word to Tyrone since that meeting. When I see the guys again, it's always a high. That's the way the world turns."
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