Once again, Kansei Matsuzawa was on the mark.

Hawaii football’s first consensus All-American went undrafted by 32 NFL franchises this weekend but the “Tokyo Toe” subsequently reached a three-year free agent deal to compete at kicker for the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.

In that sense, everything lined up. Matsuzawa had an affinity for the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium when UH played UNLV there on Nov. 21, UH special teams coordinator Thomas Sheffield told Spectrum News on Sunday.

The two FaceTimed about 10 minutes after the draft and Matsuzawa held up a silver-and-black Raiders helmet, causing Sheffield to let out an emotional yell.

“We wanted him to go to the Raiders. Even when we played UNLV at UNLV, he made a comment that this is where I want to play my pro football,” Sheffield said. “So it all just worked out, man. It’s a beautiful thing.”

The expectation is Matsuzawa will compete for the starting job. Daniel Carlson, who kicked for the Raiders since 2018, entered the free agent market and the franchise signed journeyman Matt Gay to a deal in March.

Gay appeared in 12 games for the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers in the 2025 season, converting 17 of 23 field-goal attempts (73.9%). He’s made 84.3% in a seven-year NFL career.

Matsuzawa, of Japan, drew widespread attention for his unconventional football background — he learned how to kick from watching YouTube videos — and consistency. He tied an FBS record by converting on his first 25 field-goal attempts for UH in his senior season of 2025 and was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award given to the nation’s top placekicker.

Matsuzawa was one of 13 in the NFL’s International Player Pathway program’s 2026 class. NFL clubs get one roster exemption for IPP players from the start of their offseason program until the roster reduction to 53 prior to the start of the season.

He finished 27-for-29 on field goals for his final UH season, but only attempted two kicks from 50-plus yards, making one and missing one.

Sheffield, who acknowledged that distance was the knock on Matsuzawa leading into the NFL Draft Combine, put that one on himself.

“It’s not like we were worried about him kicking 50 yards. We just have an aggressive mentality, and it kind of hindered him a little bit, I guess, from showcasing his leg strength,” Sheffield said. “But man, the accuracy will always take over.”

Florida’s Trey Smack was the only kicker drafted this year when he was taken by the Green Bay Packers with the 216th overall pick to end the sixth round.

“It’s really a great opportunity for Kansei to go in there and truly, truly compete,” Sheffield said. “And I think that’s why the Raiders wanted him so bad. … He said it all along, ‘wherever I go, I’m going to go take a job.’ That’s been his mentality. And, man, how can you not support that?”

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.