I had the honor of interviewing Tennessee Titans Punter Brett Kern.
Q: What made you become a Punter?
A: I played soccer for 14 years and played goalie. My dad played pro soccer so it runs in the blood. I got burnt out from travel ball, and my high school football coach always wanted me to kick and punt because I had a strong leg. My sophomore year in high school I decided to make the switch and give it a try.
Q: Did you have a lot of scholarships coming out of Grand Island, and if so why Toledo?
A: I had to use a recruiting service to get my name out there. In Western New York football is not big and you only have 7 regular season games and maybe playoffs; exposure was very hard to get. I got a lot of offers but nothing really close to home. Also at that time a lot of schools did not give scholarships to a punter or kicker, and just wanted to walk you on. Toledo was 5 hours away and wanted me to start all 4 years. My parents never missed a game!
Q: What was it like being called by Denver and realizing you were going to be in the NFL?
A: Draft day because I thought I was going to get drafted. It ended up being a blessing not to get drafted because I got to pick between the 3 teams that needed me & Denver needed a Punter, and I felt I could go out there and win the job. It really did not hit me I made it to the NFL until I walked into the locker room and saw guys like Champ Bailey, John Lynch, and Brian Dawkins. It was overwhelming but very surreal as well.
Q: What was it like being waived by Denver, especially after you were playing historically well that season?
A: It was very tough. I thought I was going to be in Denver for a long time, but god had different plans. I was Punting well and thought I was off to a good start to the season. My wife and I had our son who was 7 weeks old at the time I got cut, so the thought of moving was hard. When I got cut I had no clue if I was going to get picked up at all because it was already week 7 of the season, but I was so thankful the Titans called the next day and I was on a flight to the Ville that night.
Q: How was it like going from a team that was 6-0 to a team that was 0-6?
A: The funny part about that is I went from 6-0 to 0-6 but when I got here we finished the season 8-2 so we really went 14-2 that season.
Q: What made you re-sign with the Titans in 2015?
A: It was an easy decision to stay here. It’s a great city to raise a family around, great friendly people. My son has just started school as well, and my daughter was not far behind so we wanted to keep our kids in the same school district. We also have developed a lot of friends around town so that was important to us. Lastly, I loved playing for the Titans and the people around the organization
Q: How did it feel to be in the Pro Bowl and be named an All-Pro in 2017?
A: It was a huge blessing and honor Lot of work has gone into achieving this goal of mine that I set out when I first came into the league of making it to a Pro Bowl! It meant a lot to be chosen by my peers and coaches, and it was a testament to how hard we played on teams! It was a blast for my family to enjoy Disney and the perks of the PB, especially my 8 year old son to be able to go to all the practices and hang out with the other players.
Q: What’s it like being a Tennessee Titan?
A: It’s an honor to be a Titan! Been a blessing to be in the league for this long and going into year 10 here! It’s an honor to rep this area, the city of Nashville, the people, and the fans here! People told me when I got here I had big shoes to fill with Craig retiring and I hope I have come close to that because he is a great role model for any kid that loves football or not.