Before the legend of the “Tokyo Toe,” before the hot-selling jersey with the surname in kanji, before the record streak and all those watch lists, there was the video.
Kansei Matsuzawa’s form needed polishing in 2022, and the competition at Hocking College was befitting of a junior college. But Matsuzawa’s powerful right leg was evident on highlight videos.
Thomas Sheffield, Hawaii’s special teams coordinator, learned of Japan-reared Matsuzawa’s back story of watching YouTube for pointers, practicing for hours at a community park, and pestering junior colleges for a shot.
UH already had a dependable kicker in Matthew Shipley.
“We always need kickers,” UH head coach Timmy Chang said.
In receiving permission to add Matsuzawa to the Warriors’ 2023 class as a preferred walk-on, Sheffield thought, “I liked his humble beginnings. I liked his story. I thought he’d fit really well inside our program.”
Most of all, as apparent from videos and recommendations, “he had leg power,” Sheffield said. “That’s why I brought him in. That’s why I recruited him.”
Matsuzawa did not participate in any games during the 2023 season. Soon after, Shipley announced he was entering the transfer portal, eventually transferring to Arkansas. After an impressive spring training and offseason workouts, Matsuzawa was named as Shipley’s successor.
“I always projected him to start at some point in his career,” Sheffield said. “He was always, in my head, the replacement for Matt Shipley. He was always the next one in line for me.”
Last year, Matsuzawa converted on 12 of 16 field-goal attempts, slightly short of Shipley’s 14 of 18 in 2023.
“I wasn’t happy with my stats and how I spent the season,” Matsuzawa said.
Sheffield said: “I always knew he could be better than 75%.”
In January, Sheffield brought in former TCU kicker Caleb Sempebwa — along with his long-snapper Jax Thompson — to challenge for the starting kicker’s job. Sempebwa and Thompson left UH at the end of the spring semester.
Sheffield then signed James Madison transfer Jack Mowrey, who was once the nation’s most highly rated high school long-snapper. After several auditions, Matsuzawa chose backup quarterback Caleb Freeman as his holder.
The snap-hold-kick operation had glitches in player-run practices during the summer. They decided Matsuzawa would be more comfortable if Freeman received the snap eight yards from the line of scrimmage instead of the conventional seven yards. Mowrey’s 40-mph, laces-out snaps compensated for the extra yard.
Matsuzawa “just found a (pre-snap) routine that works for him,” Sheffield said. “We tweaked the little things in his kicking form. For him, it was mostly finding what works for him, and the routine from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed.”
With guidance from a sports psychologist, Matusuzawa has silenced what he called the outside “noise.” That includes the Manoa mist, Colorado State’s slippery turf, Air Force’s thin air, and that recent on-line chatter, including talk of a Heisman Trophy candidacy.
“I never get too excited or too low,” Matsuzawa said. “Every time I (aim for) the middle, and focus on doing my job. We focus on the process and the results.”
Matsuzawa’s 23 field-goal attempts are the most by a UH kicker since Tyler Hadden went 18-for-23 in 2014.
Sheffield figured Matsuzawa would connect on 85-90% of his field-goal attempts.
“I didn’t know he would be 100% at this point of the season,” Sheffield said. “He works hard. He does a lot of mental training with a sports psychologist. Those all play a factor. At the end of the day, it’s his discipline and his love for football.”
Matsuzawa said: “I just do my routines, small things right every day. Don’t skip the process. I never get bored with what I’m doing.”
Matsuzawa and punter Billy Gowers are advocates of stretching. After flights to and from road trips, they will stretch in hotel foyers or at Ching field.
“We have to take care of our bodies,” Matsuzawa said.
Matsuzawa also finds inspiration from campus life.
“Just spend the time in the facility longer,” he said. “I don’t like to go home. Once you go home, it’s done. It’s not easy to do something at home. I wake up early for practice and stay longer, as long as I can, and do something every day.”
WYOMING COWBOYS (4-7, 2-5 MWC) AT HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS (7-4, 4-3)
When/Where: 6 p.m. Saturday / Ching Complex • TV: Spectrum Sports • Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM • Line: UH by 71
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