When you grow up 20 miles from Tokyo Disneyland, life can be a roller-coaster ride.
When you’re Kansei Matsuzawa, there are the lows of idleness, the highs of finding a craft, and the unexpected twists of pursuing a dream from Nelsonville, Ohio.
“I like doing my thing,” said Matsuzawa, a 25-year-old junior competing to be Hawaii’s point-scoring kicker.
For two years after graduating from Makuhari Sogo High in Chiba, Matsuzawa waited tables at Tokyo’s Morton’s Steakhouse. “I wasn’t really doing anything,” he conceded.
Then Tetsuhara Matsuzawa gave his son money for a two-week trip to the place of his choice to find an activity that sparked joy. “I went to San Diego, LA and San Francisco,” the younger Matsuzawa said. “It was crazy. I didn’t know anything outside of Japan.”
On Sept. 10, 2018, he traveled across the Bay to attend his first NFL game. “It was the Oakland Raiders against the Rams,” said Matsuzawa, noting Los Angeles’ Greg Zuerlein converted four field goals in that season opener. “I thought, ‘This is cool. American football is definitely top of all sports.’”
After returning to Japan, he bought a football online, made his own tee, pored over YouTube videos, and went to a neighborhood park to kick. After two years of self training, he put together a highlight video. With the help of an interpreter, he wrote to 50 junior colleges. Hocking College in Nelsonville was one of two schools to offer a walk-on invitation. “If I missed the opportunity to go to Ohio, I felt I’d never go to the Midwest again,” Matsuzawa said of turning down the offer from a school in California.
Because his dorm did not have a television set, he learned to speak English by listening to teammates and their friends. In 2021, he was Hocking’s kickoff specialist. A year later, he was the field-goal kicker. Matsuzawa earned an associate’s degree in three semesters.
“It was the best decision I ever made to go to Ohio,” Matsuzawa said. “Before that, I was a child. I felt I had to be a strong man.”
During the 2023 spring semester, Matsuzawa, who had returned to Japan, received a DM from UH special teams coordinator Thomas Sheffield. Matsuzawa accepted the invitation to join the Warriors.
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Matsuzawa, like every other UH kicker, was behind Matthew Shipley on the depth chart last year. But Matsuzawa impressed in practices with his 55-yard-plus range and 4.0-second hang time. Shipley decided to play his final college season at Arkansas, opening the UH kicker’s competition.
Matsuzawa has added 10 pounds to his 6-foot-2 frame and now weighs 205; gained strength (benches 225 pounds 10 times), and extended his range to 60-plus yards. He is hopeful of making an impact this season. After all, his favorite ride is Splash Mountain.
Scouting report
The job market has increased with kicker/punter Matthew Shipley’s transfer to Arkansas. Shipley led the Warriors in scoring (72 points) and chicken-skin moments (two walk-off field goals). Kansei Matsuzawa and Kai Kluth alternated as point-scoring kickers in training camp. Ben Falck, who handled the kickoffs last season, is noted for towering punts in practice. While Ball State transfer Lucas Borrow does not possess Falck’s home-run power, he is another Prokick Australia alumnus who befuddles return units with hop-skip, rugby-styled punts.
At this position
KICKERS
33 Kai Kluth 6-4 165 Fr.
17 Kansei Matsuzawa 6-2 205 Jr.
PUNTERS
19 Lucas Borrow 6-11 180 Gr.
69 Ben Falck 6-6 225 Sr.
