Japanese kicker draws attention

Kansei Matsuzawa, a kicker from Japan who starred at the University of Hawaiʻi in 2025, is drawing new National Football League draft attention in April 2026. (espn.com) Matsuzawa, listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, made 27 of 29 field-goal attempts and all 40 extra points in 2025 for 121 points. Hawaiʻi says he finished second nationally in made field goals and tied for sixth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring. (hawaiiathletics.com) He became a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, college football’s top kicking honor, and broke school records previously held by Jason Elam. ESPN reported on March 24 that Matsuzawa’s All-America season put his National Football League goal “within range.” (hawaiiathletics.com) (espn.com) The National Football League has spent the past decade expanding its pipeline for players born outside the United States through the International Player Pathway program, which began in 2017. The league says 37 international players have signed with teams since the program started. (operations.nfl.com) Specialists already occupy a distinct lane in that pipeline because kicking depends more on repeatable mechanics than on years in American youth football systems. National Football League Football Operations notes that two full-time placekickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen, were born overseas. (operations.nfl.com) Matsuzawa’s path did not run through the International Player Pathway class announced in December 2025, which featured 13 athletes from 10 nations. The league’s March 18 list for its 2026 International Player Pathway Pro Day included six draft-eligible participants, and Matsuzawa was not among them. (nfl.com 1) (nfl.com 2) Instead, he followed the standard college route after teaching himself to kick in Japan, then attending Hocking College in Ohio before transferring to Hawaiʻi. Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported that he worked at Morton’s Steakhouse in Japan to save money and sent video to American colleges until Hocking responded. (hawaiipublicradio.org) ESPN reported that Matsuzawa first attended a National Football League game in 2018 at the Oakland Coliseum, then returned to Japan and studied kicking videos online while teaching himself English. That account has helped turn him into a broader draft story than most college kickers receive. (espn.com) His profile rose again on April 3, when Hawaiʻi television station KHON2 reported that he appeared on “Good Morning Football: Overtime” with Manti Te’o less than three weeks before the 2026 draft. KHON2 said Matsuzawa is pursuing a place on a National Football League 53-man roster as a Japan-born player. (khon2.com) For now, the measurable case is simple: 27 made field goals, 40 extra points without a miss, and a 52-yard long kick in 2025. Whether that becomes a draft pick or a free-agent opportunity, Matsuzawa has moved from an unusual backstory to a documented National Football League prospect. (espn.com) (hawaiiathletics.com)