The wild journey of Kansei Matsuzawa: From YouTube tutorials in Tokyo to getting signed by the Las Vegas Raiders

Kansei Matsuzawa didn’t grow up dreaming of the NFL...because he didn’t grow up playing football at all. In fact, the Japanese-born kicker was already a teenager before he ever picked up the sport.

Less than a decade later, he’s signing with the Las Vegas Raiders, completing one of the most unlikely journeys in recent football memory.

A random NFL game changed everything

Back in 2018, Matsuzawa was just a teenager visiting the United States with little direction. He had recently struggled academically in Japan and wasn’t sure what came next.

Then he attended an NFL game. That moment - the atmosphere, the energy, the spectacle - flipped a switch. He decided in that moment that he wanted to play in the NFL.

There was just one problem...he had never played American football before.

Without access to coaches or a structured system, Matsuzawa turned to the internet. He studied kicking mechanics on YouTube, mimicked techniques, and practiced alone, often at night, while working long hours at a steakhouse in Tokyo. Armed with little more than determination, he built his game from the ground up.

It wasn’t pretty early on. but it didn’t stop him. Eventually, he found a way to get on a field regularly by striking a deal with a local team in Japan, trading work for practice access. That experience gave him just enough exposure and confidence to take the next leap.

Betting on himself in America

With no recruiting buzz, Matsuzawa took a bold approach. He emailed highlight tapes to dozens of junior colleges in the United States. Most didn’t respond, but one did. And it only takes one.

That opportunity led him to a small junior college program in Ohio, where the transition was as difficult as expected. Language barriers, cultural differences, and raw inexperience all stood in the way. But his leg talent stood out.

After developing at the JUCO level, Matsuzawa transferred to University of Hawai’i, and that’s where everything changed. At Hawai‘i, Matsuzawa’s development accelerated.

After an adjustment period and some early inconsistency, he broke through in a major way during his final season, putting together one of the most impressive years by a kicker in college football. He opened the season with a historic make streak, delivered multiple clutch kicks, including a game-winner, finished 27-of-29 on field goals, and earned All-American honors.

Suddenly, the self-taught kicker from Japan wasn’t just a feel-good story. He was a legitimate NFL prospect.

The Raiders take a chance

Despite the production, Matsuzawa still entered the draft process facing long odds. Specialists are notoriously difficult to project, and roster spots are limited. But his story, and his consistency, were impossible to ignore.

That’s how he ultimately landed with the Raiders, earning an opportunity to compete at the highest level through the league’s international pipeline.

His rise also highlights the growing global reach of the NFL, where talent can now emerge from virtually anywhere, even from someone kicking alone in a park thousands of miles away.

Matsuzawa will now have to prove he can handle the pressure and consistency that come with being an NFL kicker. There are no long development timelines at this level. But if his journey has shown anything, it’s that betting against him hasn’t worked so far, and he’s already defied expectations at every step.

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