Before Kansei Matsuzawa was kicking game-winning field goals for Hawaii, he was fumbling his life away in Japan.
The star of Hawaii's 23-20 Week 0 win against Stanford had dreams of playing soccer professionally when he was growing up. He was a team captain for Makuhari Sogo High School in Chiba, east of Tokyo. He wasn’t quite good enough for college though, and he had failed his entrance exams. He quickly realized that soccer was no longer in the cards.
"After I quit soccer, I had nothing to do. I didn’t like my life," Matsuzawa told The Sporting News.
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At the suggestion of his father, Matsuzawa took a trip to America at the age of 19 in search of answers. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for, but he hoped that the trip would mark a turning point in his life.
Matsuzawa didn't speak English, which made navigating the country difficult. He wandered up the coast of California for a few weeks. While in San Francisco, he decided to attend the Raiders' season opener against the Rams. He had seen a few Super Bowls in Japan, but that was the extent of his football knowledge.
As he was watching his first NFL game in person, he heard the 54,000 fans in the Oakland Coliseum roaring on every play. Emotion rippled through the crowd. He was stunned.
"I never felt that in Japan," he said.
Matsuzawa returned to Japan with a newfound fascination with football. A few months later, he made a decision.
"I want to reset my life," he told himself. "I had my first 20 years. This would be my next 20 years. I want to accomplish something great."
Matsuzawa had little knowledge of how to play football. He didn’t speak English. He had never even touched a football until he purchased one at the age of 20. That didn’t stop him from becoming determined to make it to the NFL as a kicker.
There was just one problem. There was nobody in Japan who could teach him how to kick. So he improvised, loading up YouTube.
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Matsuzawa began studying videos of professional kickers, developing a smooth stride to go along with his natural power. He uploaded clips to his Twitter page, hoping that someone in America would come across them and give him a chance.
In the meantime, he started a job at a Morton’s Steakhouse in Japan, working five days a week and trying to save up as much money as he could in order to study abroad. He kept his goals a secret from his friends and parents for months, worried that they would laugh at him. Between shifts and training, he sent clips of himself to every college coach whose contact information he could find.
It took two years of slinging steaks and practicing kicks in soccer fields before a school finally gave him a chance.
Kansei Matsuzawa's journey starts in Ohio
The median income in Nelsonville, Ohio, is just shy of $21,000 per year. It’s not uncommon to find squatters sitting in collapsing homes or residents living without running water. The area is perhaps known best for its Rocky Boots factory.
Matsuzawa arrived to town in 2021 with an opportunity to play for Hocking College, whose football program was so obscure that most in the area didn’t know it existed. They played and practiced at the local high school. They had started as a charter sport in 2016, sending just one transfer to a D1 school throughout their history.
"It was so quiet," Matsuzawa recalled of Nelsonville. "When I got there, I was like, 'Damn. Nothing. Middle of nothing.'"
Matsuzawa came after sending a cold email to kicking coach Kevin Cox, who offered him a position on the team.
"It was a leap of faith for him," former Hocking head coach Ted Egger told SN. "We didn’t offer athletic scholarships. So he paid his own way."
Matsuzawa had a few other nibbles from California schools, but he wanted to challenge himself.
"I felt like I had to be a man first," he said. "So I put myself into the toughest situation. I felt that would help me become a grown man."
Matsuzawa had gone back to YouTube to try and study English in Japan. But when he got to America, he had no idea what people were saying to him. His responses were limited to a simple yes or no for his first three months.
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Matsuzawa didn’t even have a TV in his dorm room to watch English shows. Instead, he learned from broken conversations with coaches and teammates. When he saw a word on the team’s PowerPoint presentations that he didn’t know, he wrote it down and looked it up on the internet later.
Matsuzawa kept himself busy by waking up at 5 a.m., working out, attending a full schedule of classes, practicing, and going to sleep late. He didn’t spend money, hoping to get everything he could out of his steakhouse savings. He cut corners wherever he could. Instead of traveling into town for a haircut, he looked up how to do it himself on YouTube.
"My first one was horrible. It was actually a good thing that there was nobody in Hocking, so nobody could see me," he laughed. "I didn’t care, it grew again. Next time I tried to be a little more careful and thought, 'Yeah it looks better.' I got a little better each time."
Matsuzawa took on extra classes so that he could graduate a semester early. He kept his grades up, earning A’s in English through sheer force of will. He uploaded his highlights to Hudl, where his videos would generate single-digit views. He sent messages to every coach he could, hoping for some sort of lifeline.
One finally came from Chris Sailer, a kicking coach who has placed hundreds of kickers and punters into college programs. Matsuzawa had sent him an email, explaining his situation and asking for help. Sailer suggested that he come out to Las Vegas for a national showcase event.
Matsuzawa’s funds were already running low. He was worried about paying for the camp. Sailer saw something in Matsuzawa though, giving him a break on the registration fees. Matsuzawa flew out to see if he could compete against the best of the best.
Around 400-500 players showed up to the showcase that year. Around 95 percent were high school kids who had been planning the trip for years. They came with their parents in tow. Matsuzawa was older, alone, and still struggled with his English.
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"I felt sorry that I am old. I am way older than you guys," Matsuzawa recalled. "I just started kicking, and I don’t even know English, so that was my handicap. But I had the mindset that I am the best kicker in this group. I always believe in myself."
"He definitely stood out," Sailer recalled. "He showed that he could play."
Matsuzawa had natural talent. Sailer offered to add him to his Elite program, where the best of the best got together. He joined a fraternity of athletes who rooted for each other, supported one another, and gave each other advice. He quickly rose up Sailer’s best kicker rankings, landing in the top 10.
Sailer's lists drew the attention of college coaches, and Hocking was improving too. Egger had turned around the program, sending several kids to D1 schools and getting the team ranked all the way up to No. 4 in the country among DIII Junior Colleges. But the offers for Matsuzawa still weren’t coming, and his savings were rapidly depleting due to the cost of attending as many kicking events as he could.
"The kid was determined," Egger recalled. "I bet you he went to 15 of those camps. He really worked his butt off."
As his bank account raced towards zero, he finally broke down and told his parents about how dire his situation was becoming. They supported his dreams, moving out of his childhood home into a cheaper house in order to be able to help. After receiving his associate degree and with no offers coming, he returned to Japan to wait for his next opportunity.
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Hawaii offers Kansei Matsuzawa a shot as kicker
Early in 2023, Thomas Sheffield, the Special Teams Coordinator for Hawaii, needed to add another kicker to the roster. One who would be willing to accept a preferred walk-on spot rather than a scholarship.
Sheffield pulled up Sailer’s list of best available kickers, scanning it until he saw a player whose hometown was listed in Japan. He didn’t expect much. He’d never heard of any kickers coming from out of the country. But Honolulu was closer than other colleges on the mainland.
"Maybe that could serve as an advantage in recruitment," he thought.
Sheffield’s intrigue grew as he began reading Matsuzawa’s profile. He watched Matsuzawa’s kicks, some of which were filmed on a random field with no uprights. He could tell that Matsuzawa was striking the ball well.
"He had the frame, he had the power, he had the accuracy to kick at this level," Sheffield said.
Sheffield gave Matsuzawa a call. He heard the life story. Saving money for years to pay for his dream. Teaching himself English. Living in rural Ohio to make the most of his only chance. More than anything, he heard grit.
"Honestly, he was just my guy from the first time we spoke."
Sheffield offered Matsuzawa a preferred walk-on spot on the team. By that time Auburn, Nevada, and Ole Miss had also started to show interest.
"We were really in a dog fight," Sheffield said. What sold Matsuzawa was Sheffield's pitch, centered around what the school would do for him rather than what he needed to do for the school.
After great conversation with @CoachSheff_UH , I’m super excited to say I’ve received PWO to the University of Hawaii!! @HawaiiFootball @Chris_Sailer @NextLevelKick1 pic.twitter.com/ujmbujyw8x
— Kansei Matsuzawa (@kan08sei) March 21, 2023
Matsuzawa’s transition to a D1 program was full of even more adjustments. He initially struggled with the pace of college practices. His kicking became inconsistent. He had technique issues, raising his head too early to watch the flight of the ball. Before the team’s first game at Vanderbilt, Sheffield informed him that as the third-string kicker, he wouldn’t be traveling with the team.
"He was heartbroken," Sheffield recalled. "But after we got back, he was like a totally different person. He took the bull by the horns and said I’m not gonna be the third string kicker. He came back into the rotation as the second string kicker and traveled the rest of the year."
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Matsuzawa lived simply in Hawaii. He had no bed frame for his bed. A TV sat on the floor. He woke up at 5 a.m. to begin training for games that he wouldn’t play. He had to watch from the bench in his first year. One of the highlights of the season came in Hawaii’s last game. Kicker Matt Shipley hit a walk-off 52 yard field goal to beat Colorado State.
"Not 10 minutes after the game, he was like 'Coach Sheff, I am going to hit your next game-winner. That is my goal,'" Sheffield recalled.
Matsuzawa had hit a booming 50-yard game-winner for Hocking, but didn’t get an opportunity in 2024 as the No. 1 kicker at Hawaii. He did hit 12 of 16 attempts though, earning a meeting with head coach Timmy Chang at the end of the season. Chang informed Matsuzawa that his tuition would no longer be a worry. He had earned an athletic scholarship to the school. As the two embraced, emotions overwhelmed Matsuzawa. He broke down in tears.
稼いだ#RideOrDie @kan08sei pic.twitter.com/PXMTcPBfVc
— Coach Sheffield (@CoachSheff_UH) December 3, 2024
More tears of joy would soon follow. In their opening game, Hawaii took on Stanford on a game broadcast across the country on CBS. The Rainbow Warriors hadn’t beaten a Power 4 team since 2019. Matsuzawa kept it close throughout the game, hit both his extra points and was 2 for 2 on field goals.
With the game tied at 20 and three seconds left, Matsuzawa took the field. Stanford called a timeout to try and ice him. He took the time to utilize his mental training. He lined up on the right hash from 38 yards out, kicking the ball with plenty of leg and keeping his head down low. He raised it just in time to see it sail straight down the middle of the uprights, giving his team the win as time expired.
Sheffield was the first one out to Matsuzawa, embracing him in a bear hug..
"I was ugly crying," Sheffield said. "I was so emotional. It took me 30 minutes to get emotionally right.
"With everything his family has sacrificed, his mom getting cancer a couple years ago in the middle of our season, the coolest thing is that they were here. I kept on repeating it. 'Your parents are here.'"
Matsuzawa hugged Sheffield back. His teammates surrounded him. He looked up at his parents and smiled. A week later, he reflected on his journey.
"At the age of 20, I decided to be an NFL player. That’s the craziest goal that I’ve ever had. But I never doubted myself. Since that day, I always thought I can be an NFL player. Even Day One, kicking the football, it was horrible. But I knew I could be something great. I just focused on myself and said, 'You can do it.'"