When new head coach Klint Kubiak hired Joe DeCamillis to be the Las Vegas Raiders special teams coordinator, you knew the familiarity well went deeper than between the two coaches.<\/p>\n
And it was no surprise to see the Silver & Black link the new special teams boss with place kicker Matt Gay. The 32-year-old kicker from Utah was part of the team\u2019s Wave 1 free agency splash last month and closed the door on re-signing longtime boot specialist Daniel Carlson.<\/p>\n
While Gay and DeCamillis look to recapture the magic they had as kicker and special teams coordinator, respectively, with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 and 2022 \u2014 those two seasons, the kicker missed just two field goals and had 94.1 and 93.3 field goal percentages \u2014 the Las Vegas Raiders would be wise to hedge their best in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s crop of place kicker prospects available later this month is intriguing, but there\u2019s one in particular that can ignite a true kicking competition in Las Vegas: Hawaii\u2019s Kansei Matsuzawa.<\/p>\n
By The Numbers
Kansei Matsuzawa, Place Kicker, Hawaii<\/p>\n
2025: 13 games, 27 field goals made, 29 field goals attempted, 93.1 field goal percentage, 40-for-40 on extra points, 121 points scoredCareer: (2024-25), 25 games, 39 field goals made, 45 field goals attempted, 86.7 field goal percentage, 72-for-72 on extra points, 189 points scored<\/p>\n
Dubbed the \u201cTokyo Toe\u201d this Rainbow Warriors specialist is a self-taught kicker who studied by watching YouTube \u2014 of all things. But doing so landed Matsuzawa an opportunity at the University of Hawaii and he didn\u2019t look back.<\/p>\n
Showcasing both accuracy and ability to handle volume, the 6-foot-2 and 200-pound kicker set the school record with 27 made field goals and tied a FBS record with 25 consecutive field goals made to start 2025. The record Matsuzawa broke was held by Jason Elam and going 40-for-40 on extra points alongside the 27 field goals made, Matsuzawa\u2019s 121 total points was good for sixth best in the NCAA this past season.<\/p>\n
His 2025 season made Matsuzawa a 2025 Lou Groza Award (best collegiate place kicker nod) finalist, an accolade that went to Oklahoma\u2019s Tate Sandell (24 of 27 on field goals (88.9 percent), 35-for-35 on PATs), but the Tokyo-born specialist did earn consensus All-American honors.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s quite an interesting connection with the Silver & Black, which was the catalyst to Matsuzawa\u2019s interest in pursuing an NFL dream: As a 19-year-old tourist from Japan, he sat in the Oakland Coliseum in 2018 to watch the Raiders host the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n