Few players have had a start to the collegiate football season as explosive as Kansei Matsuzawa’s. Can the Japanese player live up to the hype and become a true Rainbow Warriors legend?

Kansei Matsuzawa could be the season’s first underdog story. Now affectionately known as ‘The Tokyo Toe’, this player did not even know how to kick or speak English until he started watching YouTube videos.
He made a startling start to the season in the opening NCAA college football game. After time expired, he hit a 38-yarder to give the University of Hawaii a 23-20 victory over Stanford.

Kansei Matsuzawa and the Rainbow Warriors

While the NFL remains the global brand for football, in the past two seasons, college football has really stepped up and gained the attention of those outside the US. This has been for several reasons. One is better worldwide access through streaming services, which is where Matsuzawa’s parents watch his games from Japan.

Second is the attention brought to it from the growing online sportsbooks industry. This makes it easy to place bets on collegiate football from wherever a person is in the US or around the world. Even states where online betting had been forbidden, like Missouri, have now legalised it. This has brought many major brands to the country. The well known operator Bet365 is legal in Missouri, and have options to wager on college football or a wide range of alternate markets.

This has brought plenty of attention to Matsuzawa, who has stepped up and taken it on the chin. So far, he has made all of his 19 field goal attempts. He has also earned all 19 of his extra points. All seven attempts from 40-49 yards have been hit, and he was leading the college football rankings by five field goals. This put him ahead of Eastern Michigan’s Rudy Kessinger and Houston’s Ethan Sanchez.

His Place in Hawaii

It was 2024 when he really came to the fore. When Matthew Shipley left for Arkansas in the 2023 transfer window, he really stepped up. Determined to win the starting kicker’s job, Matsuzawa made 12 of his 16 field goal attempts. He also added these 32 extra point tries.

Behind the scenes, he is also proving to be the kind of player any team cherishes, boosting morale in the squad. Lucas Borrow recounted a tale when he became lost on his first day to the locker room. It was Kansei Matsuzawa who found him, then directed him. He noted, “I don’t know where I was, and Kansei straight away called me, came and found me, went and showed me everything. That kind of just sums up who he is. Just wants to help out. He’s always been like that.”

When Borrow was later replaced by 29-year-old Freshman Billy Gowers, it was Matsuzawa who gave him a place to stay while he settled in. He spoke to the player on social media and even showed him around the city in his first week.

The Path to the Rainbow Warriors

Born in Ichikawa, Japan, he was a standout soccer protégé as a youngster. Failing a crucial exam, he was unable to go to college and soon found himself drifting. He had never even heard of the NFL until a chance trip to the US, where he managed to witness a game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Rams.

It was then that he turned to YouTube to learn the game. He moved from playing soccer at Makuhari Sogo High School in Chiba, Japan, to two seasons at a college in Nelsonville, Ohio. During his sophomore season here, he attained 12 of 17 field goal attempts.

Astoundingly, he didn’t even speak the language. For his first two years, he admits he had no idea what the coaches were saying. Catching the attention of the Hawaii coaching staff, he made the move in 2023. He added that these people really believed him, and the coaches taught him football ‘101’.

The Future for Matsuzawa

He has been vocal about his love of Seahawks kicker Jason Myers and the influence he has had on his play. He has studied him on recordings,  following his rhythm. Matsuzawa then followed his own practice schedule influenced by this. This involved building a weekly routine, which limited strain on the leg and included mental training as much as physical conditioning.

The opening game against Stanford was extremely important for him, as his parents had travelled over to witness the game. He added, “I really wanted to win that game, especially in week zero. Visualization is really important. I was ready for a game-time field goal and a game-winning field goal. I’m telling myself I am elite. And then focus on myself as one of the biggest things,”

So far, he has helped Hawaii attain a spectacular season. Losses have been infrequent, including one against SJSU. Yet any that have occurred have been marginal, and they are 6 -3 in the conference, with four home wins. It is away they must step up, with a 2-2 record at the time of writing.