NATIVE SON: LSU Punter Jay Bramblett's Cross-Country Odyssey To College Football Stardom

"Good morning America how are you?

Say, don't you know me? I'm your native son"

- Steve Goodman, "City of New Orleans"

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Steve Goodman's iconic 1971 super hit "City of New Orleans" tells the story of a legendary train by giving the listener colorful details of the landscape and the train's passengers on a long odyssey from Kankakee, Illinois to the Gulf Coast.

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Decorated LSU Tigers punter and Tuscaloosa native Jay Bramblett admitted he wasn't familiar with the song at first, but quickly noticed the similarities between Goodman's lyrics and his own journey when he graciously spared the time for an in-depth interview with Tuscaloosa Patch on Wednesday.

A hometown hero who needs little introduction to those who follow high school football in west Alabama, Bramblett left home after high school and made a name for himself in South Bend, Indiana for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, before making the nearly 1,000-mile move south to Baton Rouge via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Bramblett is sure to have a large contingency of friends, family and fans in attendance at Tiger Stadium on Saturday as No. 18 LSU is set to host the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Despite this being Bramblett's second time to take on his hometown team, following Notre Dame's 31-14 loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2021, it's still sure to be a game he will never forget.

"I'm just looking forward to being able to help my team and to do what's necessary in order to have an opportunity to win the game," Bramblett told Patch in a phone interview ahead of the game. "And, you know, if I do that, I'm also going to get the chance to turn some heads, so I'm excited."

Bramblett has proven himself an elite-class punter, sure. But that's only a small part of his story.

Aside from being a definite NFL prospect and a preseason selection for the coveted Ray Guy Award — given each year to the country's most outstanding punter — he's also a son, a brother, a soon-to-be uncle, an accomplished angler and an aspiring firefighter, among other things.

On the eve of the Tide making the trip to face Bramblett and the Tigers, Patch caught up with the LSU punter to talk a little football, but most importantly, to peel back the layers on this hometown hero and tell the story of his epic journey to college football stardom.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Few families are as respected in Tuscaloosa County like the Brambletts and it simply wouldn't be fair if their contributions to the success of Jay and others is overlooked or skimmed over.

No, the Brambletts aren't millionaire philanthropists nor are they some kind of age-old political dynasty. Rather, they've left their mark in athletics and by giving their all to their community.

The patriarch — Mike Bramblett — might be the father of three successful young men, but he's also become a kind of surrogate father for many in the city of Brookwood during one of its hardest times.

Indeed, after finishing his fourth season at the helm of the football program, the optimism around the program is difficult to ignore, thanks in no small part to Coach Bramblett.

It's been historically difficult to win at Brookwood, but Coach Bramblett has made commendable strides, not just by improving the overall experience for his players and supporters, but by reinventing the entire culture of the program and generating buzz in the hallways of Brookwood High and the streets of the small city.

"Mike brings the kind of leadership that provides that level of excitement," Brookwood Mayor Joe Barger told Patch. "The way he leads our football team and he pushes them to achieve great things only because he himself is driven. He understands what it takes to be a winner. Mike has done a great job leading our students, giving them something to work for. [Mike's wife] Amy is a great supporter for him, too, so it's no wonder that Jay and his other two children have turned out to be the success stories they are now."

While there may be existing divisions in the small coal mining town due to the ongoing and protracted labor union strike at Warrior Met Coal, Coach Bramblett has undeniably served as a unifying force through promoting much-needed concepts like respecting the program's history, building leaders off the field and taking pride in having a sense of place. It's the little things, like incorporating miner pick-axe helmet stickers as a sign of respect to the town's roots in the mining business.

Coach Bramblett's team finished 4-6 this year, marking the Panthers' best record since 2016 and showing consistent improvement over his tenure.

"I always just thought that Mike and Amy have proven themselves just on the way that their sons have turned out, that they instilled some good work ethic and moral character in them, and that overflows or spills over into our lives [in Brookwood]. He pushes our team the way he pushes his children, so he treats them right. It's a family, not just a job. He's invested in our students. He's invested in our school and he's invested in our community."

Still, Coach Bramblett's true wisdom and love is reflected in the stories provided by his youngest son, Jay, who thought back on so many of the lessons from his Dad. Jay then incorporated some of those teachings when he delivered a motivational speech to the Brookwood Panthers last week before the underdogs nearly toppled 7A Tuscaloosa County 20-14 to close out the season.

"It was a lot about leadership and character, that little spiel, but more so about how he's got a plan and a process that he wants everyone to do and follow through with and not just be a good football player, but being a good person," Jay Bramblett said. "All of that translates into other things."

Jay went on to speak for himself and his two older brothers — Minor League baseball pitcher Geoffrey and soon-to-be new father, Bradley, who is expecting a baby girl this week — about each of them standing as living proof that their parents' influence made them the successful men that they are today.

"I'm going to be honest with you, if the three of us had listened to him even better, then there's no telling where we might be," Jay said with a big laugh. "There's a lot of good high school football coaches in the state, but I don't know if there's one that cares more about the players and more about them being good people than him."

Those lessons for Jay began on the baseball diamond, he explained.

"I played baseball from three or four years old and was big in the travel ball stuff and all the camps just like football later," he said. "But even more so, I think all of us — my Dad and my brother Geoffrey — I think all of us put a lot more into baseball."

While benefitting from the tutelage of his Dad and looking up to his two older brothers, Jay as a little boy and teenager was able to get a firsthand look at what it took for an athlete to excel and get the opportunity to play at the next level.

A star on the mound at Hoover High, Geoffrey Bramblett was drafted out of high school by the Atlanta Braves, before going on to be a standout for the Alabama Crimson Tide and eventually drafted by the Kansas City Royals. Like his younger brother, Geoffrey Bramblett is still chasing his athletic dreams and became a strong role model for Jay.

"I had two great guys to look up to, you know, two guys that just wanted to be great at what they were doing," Jay said of his two siblings. "And I think that speaks to my Dad. We kind of talk about a standard in football, but I feel like that's the kind of example he set for us and a standard for us of how we treat people and respect people — all that great stuff that's necessary just to be a good person. But with Bradley and Geoffrey, I love them to death and we just always make everything a competition and all of that made us better. But obviously, I've always have had their love and support and can't thank them enough."

Bradley Bramblett agreed, saying he didn't believe there was a more internally-competitive group like he and his brothers.

"We were at each other growing up and we still go at it as we get older," Bradley told Patch. "Our parents had an incredible impact on us, they’ve travelled across the country for all three of us growing up and always did everything in their power to make sure we had opportunities to be successful. They never gave us anything, but they always made sure we had opportunities, and that’s probably why we’re so competitive."

But of all the roles and accolades for the Bramblett family, it should come as no surprise that the mother is the glue that holds everything together.

Registered Nurse Amy Bramblett is the blue-collar matriarch of the Bramblett family and few, if any, would argue that she is deserving of a bronze statue in the middle of town for raising three boys who would make any parents proud.

For her impact on Jay, the star punter mentioned an initiative encouraged by his mother — Kick it for Cancer — that raised money for childhood cancer while Jay was still playing for the Hillcrest High Patriots. Donations were made based on the distance of each punt and raised more than $1,000 while Jay was still in high school.

Just last year, that same initiative raised over $10,000.

"Being a nurse and around all that, I got a lot of influence from her and want to help people," he said. "And of course, she was always there, taking us to the ballpark and making sure we were on time."

And there's likely no bigger fan of Jay Bramblett than his Mama.

"We're so proud of him," Amy Bramblett told Patch. "We just basically set expectations and we expected [their children] to do things a certain way, the right way, to have character and to take pride in everything that they did."

Coach Bramblett and Amy work demanding full-time jobs, including Friday night football games followed by day-long drives to South Bend, Baton Rouge and everywhere in between. This has been in no way lost on Jay, who expressed his gratitude for the support he still receives on every Saturday ... no different than the innumerable practices, camps and ballgames growing up.

"My mom would drive by herself 12 hours up to South Bend to get there and tailgate and to be there to support me," he said. "And then Dad would drive to Atlanta and fly to Chicago and then ride a train to South Bend. So really, I think just that alone speaks volumes about how much they care about me and how much they wanted to support me. And that's a good combination of how it was my entire life."

A STAR IS BORN

Not many kids grow up wanting to be a punter. It's a thankless job where perfection is always expected, but rarely, if ever, celebrated.

After all, you're the only player on the team that no one wants to have to put in the game, right?

The son of a punter himself, though, Jay Bramblett has brought his own hard-nosed approach to the position and has won fans because of it.

It wasn't always that way, though.

With his aforementioned first love of baseball, Jay also found himself on the Hillcrest High football team his freshman year as a backup quarterback with little chance of seeing the field so early in his high school career and playing AHSAA 6A football.

His sophomore year, however, the tall and sure-footed athlete saw action at receiver, but stepped in when the Patriots found themselves without a punter.

It turned out to be the decision of a lifetime.

"So I [punted and played receiver] my junior year, too, and I was the backup quarterback again," he recalled. "Then senior year I played quarterback and I had gotten better every year at punting. I worked at it and I guess it was spring practice going into my senior year that I started getting a few looks and a few offers to go walk on [as a punter]. I really just saw it as an opportunity to get on the field and I really enjoyed it."

Indeed, athletic scholarships for punters and kickers can be difficult to come by, even for elite-level talent like Jay Bramblett. Oftentimes, those scholarships or lack thereof provide insight into the priorities of each program when it comes to doling out full rides to specialists.

After being approached to be a preferred walk-on for several programs, though, it would be the spring training period ahead of the summer before his senior year that Jay received his first big-time offer from a major college football program: the Missouri Tigers.

"It was kind of like: 'Finally,' and I felt at that point in time like I was pretty good," he said. "I've been going to these camps and I got ranked pretty high and I feel like there's always anticipation that it was supposed to happen at some point. And it finally happened and I thought: 'Dang, [all the work] is actually paying off.'"

Bramblett's hometown Crimson Tide offered him preferred walk-on status as a punter out of high school, but it would be Notre Dame's Brian Kelly — now Bramblett's coach at LSU — to win out in the battle for arguably the most-coveted punt specialist in Tuscaloosa history.

Despite his family's passion for baseball and getting some looks from colleges as he played on the same team as overlooked prospect and current Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, Bramblett set his mind to football after graduation and made the move to South Bend to punt for the Irish.

According to ESPN.com recruiting rankings, Bramblett was considered the fourth-best high school punter in America his senior year at Hillcrest and the No. 29 overall player in the state of Alabama. He was also ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 1 punter prospect in the country, according to the outlet's Baton Rouge affiliate, and played in the 2019 All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

Not bad for a kid just trying to get on the field, right?

There would also be no wall time for the rising star from Tuscaloosa, as he became an immediate contributor for Notre Dame. His freshman season, he appeared in 13 games, which included an eye-popping 61-yard punt against Michigan.

But arguably the most memorable moment for the 6-2, 200-pound punter during his time in South Bend — one that will likely be remembered for decades — came against No. 1 Clemson with Bramblett in the game as a holder for a field goal attempt on the night of Nov. 7, 2020.

WATCH THE MOMENT HERE

In a moment that could have just as easily turned into something resembling Auburn's "Kick Six" against Alabama in 2013, Irish kicker Jon Doerer came up well short on a long 57-yard field goal attempt that was then fielded and returned by future first round pick and current Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne.

Watching Bramblett following the kick, he immediately could be seen looking downfield with his feet pumping and head on a swivel to determine what direction the play would develop. And in the matter of a second or maybe two, he found himself as the last guy for Etienne to beat on his way to the end zone.

Then, in the rarest of moments for a punt or kick specialist, Bramblett barreled in and took Etienne to the ground along the sideline as the elite runner tried to hurdle him. Social media went wild and Bramblett won the adoration of the Irish faithful in one of the biggest wins in Notre Dame history.

"Oh my gosh, I was stoked," Amy Bramblett told Patch of the tackle. "It was like I was back when he was playing quarterback again. I thought the whole time that [Geoffrey] was pitching at Alabama, I was like, why don't you play in a position? But with expectations, I expected [Jay] to make that tackle."

CHAPTERS TO BE WRITTEN

After appearing in 38 games over three seasons in Notre Dame and finishing his undergraduate degree, Bramblett's thoughts shifted to a possible return home to finish out his remaining two years of eligibility in the Southeastern Conference.

He also entered the portal just weeks before Kelly announced he would be leaving Notre Dame to take over as head coach of the LSU Tigers.

Amy Bramblett said she cherishes those moments watching her son grow on the field for Notre Dame, but seems to have anticipated her son wanting to end his college career closer to home.

"He finished strong and got his degree, so that means a lot to me that he made a commitment and stuck with it," she said. "So when he told us that he wanted to enter the portal, we could do nothing but support him. We did tell him: 'You can enter the portal and you may not hear from anybody,' and he knew that, but said he just felt like he needed a fresh start and wanted to come south and get back to the SEC. And it just worked out. I think it was probably meant to be."

Indeed, Kelly and LSU special teams coordinator Brian Polian once again recruited Bramblett in the transfer portal, bringing him on scholarship while his hometown Crimson Tide once again offered preferred walk-on status.

"I owe [Kelly] so much just for giving me an opportunity to come down here," Bramblett said. "I think Coach Kelly's great if you're in the locker room and you're a player. I'm proud of that. He is super approachable."

He then reflected back to the first meeting with his head coach before comparing it to when the two reconnected in Baton Rouge.

"The first time I ever met Coach Kelly, we ended up talking about fishing and then I got down here and see him when I came on a visit in February," Bramblett said. "I hadn't seen him in three months and I talked to him and he was telling me about how he had just gone down to south Louisiana and was catching fish ... he's super easy to build a relationship with for somebody that plays for him and is around him. It's nothing to be able to just go up to his office, knock on the door and be able to talk to him. I mean, I think that speaks a lot about him."

Despite having a remaining year of eligibility after this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jay Bramblett told Patch he was taking his time deciding on whether to go ahead and give the NFL a try or to stay in Baton Rouge one final year. He already has his undergraduate degree in hand from Notre Dame and will leave LSU with a master's degree in Leadership and Human Resource Development.

Bramblett no doubt wants the opportunity to make an NFL roster and will likely get the chance thanks to his development and experience playing key roles in two major college football programs.

Still, he has dreams and goals wholly seperate from the gridiron.

"In all honesty, after I get done playing football, I'm planning on going to college and also being a firefighter and then owning a small business of some sort or getting into real estate or something like that," he said. "It just depends."

On the business side, few could argue Bramblett's entrepreneurial sense and his ability to market himself after starting Bama Backwater Outdoors — a niche brand selling hats, shirts, etc. He has also used his station as a standout major college football player to become a brand ambassador for different companies, namely in the fishing sector.

"The fishing stuff was kind of like my way into the NIL stuff," he said with a laugh, "because who's going to pay a punter thousands of dollars or give them a truck?"

Bramblett has no need to be in a hurry to settle on his future, especially considering No. 6 Alabama is set to play the Tigers under the lights in Baton Rouge on Saturday.

But in thinking back on his journey from high school backup quarterback in Tuscaloosa to bonafide NFL prospect, gratitude became the central theme.

He's reminded of the countless times his parents took him to football and baseball camps, being in the hotel overnight on trips or the long drives to play ball in places like Atlanta or Orlando.

It's the support, though, that he cherishes and counts himself lucky to still have as he prepares to suit up against his hometown Crimson Tide.

"It is truly a blessing because a lot of people don't have that opportunity or maybe their parents don't make enough money to send them to camps and to do this and they miss out on that opportunity," Bramblett said when asked about moments in his career and life that made a difference. "I don't know if I could pinpoint one particular thing, but that's just because of that overwhelming love and support, like every single weekend. My Dad's got the flu right now, and I guarantee that he's going to figure out how to be here Saturday."

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