placekicker Kansei Matsuzawa is turning heads across college football, and his remarkable rise from a self-taught kicker in Japan to the nation¡¯s top scorer is fueling All-America and Lou Groza Award (college football¡¯s annual award for the nation¡¯s top placekicker) buzz.
Through the first half of the 2025 season, the senior has been perfect on 16 field goal attempts, setting a UH and Mountain West record for consecutive makes to start a season. Dating back to last year, his streak has reached 17, the second-longest in school history. He leads the nation in made field goals, points scored (62) and conversions from 40-plus yards (seven). His six straight games with multiple field goals without a miss also marks a Mountain West record.
Nicknamed the “Tokyo Toe,” Matsuzawa¡¯s story has become one of the most compelling in college football. A native of Ichikawa, Japan, he grew up playing soccer and didn¡¯t attempt his first kick until age 20 after attending an NFL game in Los Angeles. He taught himself how to kick by studying YouTube videos and eventually earned a spot at Hocking College in Ohio. After two seasons there, he joined the Rainbow Warriors as a walk-on in 2023.
Matsuzawa¡¯s poise has already produced signature moments, including a game-winning field goal as time expired in the week 0 win over Stanford and a career-long 52-yarder against Fresno State. He has been named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week three times this season and honored twice as a Lou Groza Award “Star of the Week.”
National media have also embraced his journey, with features in NBC Nightly News, The Athletic, Japan Times and Sporting News.
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