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How a 22-Year-Old Irish Man With No Football Experience Made It as a NFL Kicker (and The Reality of the IPP Program)

Ames · May 1, 2026

A note on perspective: I'm a Japanese NFL fan and originally wrote this primarily for a Japanese audience — so if you've stumbled onto this English version, welcome. The reason for the Matsuzawa angle will make more sense with that context: in Japan right now, his signing is a pretty big deal.

Kansei Matsuzawa is a Japanese kicker — born in Japan, raised there, played soccer growing up, then converted to American football and eventually walked on at the University of Hawaii, where he became one of the better kickers in the Mountain West. He just signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent through the NFL's International Player Pathway program. In Japan, this is front-page sports news.

Rather than rehash what plenty of people are already covering — whether Matsuzawa can make the opening roster, his backstory — I want to use this moment to spotlight a player most fans outside of New Orleans haven't spent much time thinking about: New Orleans Saints kicker Charlie Smyth. (Saints fans who just checked out: stay with me. This is genuinely not just a promo for my favorite team's favorite player.)

Smyth is a 24-year-old from a small village in Northern Ireland who had never kicked an American football before August 2023. Less than a year later, he had an NFL contract. By mid-2025, he was New Orleans' starting kicker. As of April 2026, he's the only IPP kicker in the program's history who has actually stuck as a starter — and his story is the most useful frame we have for understanding what Matsuzawa and every other IPP kicker is actually facing.

1. The IPP Program: What It Is and Why It Matters Now

1.1. How the Program Works

The International Player Pathway (IPP) program, launched in 2017, is the NFL's structured pipeline for non-American and non-Canadian athletes — those with elite competitive backgrounds in other sports — to get a real shot at making an NFL roster. The program provides coaching, combine exposure, and pro day access to put these players in front of scouts.

In its early years, the focus was on positions where elite size and athleticism can translate fast — OL, DL, RB. The signature success story is Jordan Mailata of the Eagles, an Australian rugby league player who developed into one of the better left tackles in the league.

1.2. The 2024 Rule Change That Opened the Door for Specialists

The barrier dropped significantly with a 2024 rule change. Two key updates:

Kickers and punters were officially added to the list of eligible positions
Each team's practice squad expanded from 16 to 17 players, with the 17th spot designated as an IPP Exemption — a protected slot reserved for international players

For a specialist, that second point is enormous. Under normal roster rules, keeping a developmental kicker on a 53-man roster or standard practice squad is a luxury almost no team will spend. With this 17th exemption slot, teams can hold an international kicker on the practice squad for up to three seasons — protected from waivers — and develop him without burning any traditional roster space.

Since specialists became eligible, the NFL has already seen five IPP kickers sign: Charlie Smyth (NO), Jude McAtamney (NYG), and Alex Hale (GB) in 2024; Mark McNamee (GB) and Lenny Krieg (ATL) in 2025. Kansei Matsuzawa joins the list in 2026.

2. Charlie Smyth: From a Northern Irish Village to the NFL

Profile:
Born June 26, 2001 (age 24) | 6'4", 210 lbs
From: Mayobridge, County Down, Northern Ireland (pop. ~1,000)
Previous sport: Gaelic football (goalkeeper)

Charlie Smyth

Depending on the angle, genuinely kind of looks the part. (Image: New Orleans Saints)

2.1. What Is Gaelic Football?

Ireland's native field sport — somewhere between soccer and rugby, played with a round ball on a pitch with H-shaped goalposts (lower section scores 3 like a soccer goal; upper section scores 1 like an NFL field goal). It demands serious kicking ability from goalkeepers, and Smyth was a particularly strong one — accurate, powerful off the ground, reportedly scoring nine goals as a keeper in competition. He helped County Down win at the Under-20 level.

Worth noting: Smyth had been an NFL fan in a village where that wasn't exactly the norm — reportedly watched RedZone constantly. At 18, he emailed NFL headquarters asking for a tryout, citing his Gaelic football skills as potential NFL kicking ability. The NFL did not respond. Relatable, honestly.

2.2. The Turning Point: Leader Kicking

Smyth had been on a path to becoming a primary school PE teacher when Tadhg Leader — a former professional rugby player who had converted to American football and played in the ELF and CFL — started scouting in Dublin for his Leader Kicking program. Leader had originally been focused on placing kickers into NCAA programs; after the 2024 IPP rule change opened the door for specialists, he pivoted to recommending IPP candidates directly.

Leader Kicking website

Leader Kicking's website

Smyth tried out. His raw leg power was immediately obvious — reportedly off the charts compared to the other candidates. He made the final five. The kicker: August 2023 was the first time he had ever kicked an American football. He got invited to a 10-week intensive training camp in Florida in January 2024, then showed up at the NFL Combine and went 12-for-16 on field goals, followed by 8-for-10 — including a 60-yarder — at a pro day at USF. The Saints' scouts noticed.

On March 29, 2024 — roughly six months after his first-ever football kick — Smyth signed a three-year UDFA contract with New Orleans. First time that had happened for a Gaelic football player with no game experience.

This video from August 2023 — his very first session — already shows something real:

3. Fighting for a Starting Job in New Orleans

3.1. 2024 Preseason: Flashes, Then a Loss to Blake Grupe

Smyth's first training camp turned heads immediately. He was drilling 65-yard kicks in practice, drawing actual coverage from Saints beat reporters. In Preseason Week 1 against Arizona, he nailed a 37-yard walk-off field goal. It was a legitimate shot at the starting job.

But the NFL has a way of humbling people fast. Smyth picked up an injury in Week 3 of the preseason, and even setting that aside, incumbent Blake Grupe — a proven rookie-year performer — edged him on accuracy inside 50 yards and, critically, on kickoffs. That last part mattered more than usual: 2024 was the first year of the new kickoff format, which demands far more nuance than simply booming the ball deep. Grupe had already adapted. He made the roster (87% FG rate on the year, top-2 touchback rate on the new format league-wide). Smyth didn't.

3.2. The IPP Exemption Does Its Job

Here's where the 17th roster spot earns its keep. After clearing waivers, Smyth was immediately re-signed to New Orleans' practice squad under the IPP exemption — no roster spot burned, no exposure to other teams.

Grupe stayed healthy all year, so Smyth never got a regular-season snap. But the Saints used that year deliberately. Special teams coach Phil Galiano sent Smyth to train under John Carney — Saints Hall of Famer, two-time Pro Bowl kicker, and serious post-career coach. Smyth has been candid about how raw his mechanics were at that point: "I didn't even know how to walk up to the ball without tripping over my own feet." The work with Carney went deep — down to the inch, literally. One interview had Smyth discussing whether to set up 125 inches or 110 inches from the ball.

3.3. 2025 Preseason: Grupe's Improbable Streak Continues

The 2025 camp competition was supposed to be different. Smyth had a full year of NFL-level development behind him. It really looked like this was the year.

It wasn't — not yet. Grupe went on a run in practice that was borderline comical: reportedly missing just one of 40 field goal attempts at one point, with camp reports describing his roster spot as essentially locked. Grupe won the job again. Smyth went through the same routine: waiver wire, re-signed to the practice squad the next day. That said, Smyth was genuinely sharp in preseason action — 4-for-4 on field goals, including two beyond 50 yards. The development was real.

3.4. Grupe Implodes, Smyth Gets His Shot

Then the 2025 regular season happened, and none of Grupe's preseason reliability translated. The Saints were already a disaster offensively with Spencer Rattler under center — and layering in a kicker who couldn't crack 70% on field goals made it somehow worse. Saints fans, including me, were losing their minds on a weekly basis. Think Jake Moody's nightmare stretch with the 49ers — same energy, same timeline, same daily fan grief. (reference)

After Grupe missed two field goals in a Week 12 loss to Atlanta on November 25, New Orleans cut him. Two and a half years as the starter, over.

It still wasn't a clean path to Smyth. The Saints brought in Cade York — a fourth-round pick who had become one of the more notable busts in recent draft memory — and ran a head-to-head evaluation. One week of direct comparison: distance, trajectory, accuracy, snap-to-kick timing. Smyth won.

On November 29, he was elevated to the active roster for the first time in his NFL career. (Teams can elevate practice squad players to the 53-man roster up to three times per season without formally signing them — known as a standard elevation.)

3.5. 56-Yard FG on Debut. Oh, and an Onside Kick.

His debut came in Week 13 at Miami. The first kick they sent him out for: a 56-yard field goal — tied for the second-longest attempted debut in NFL history. He split the uprights.

Then, late in the game, down eight points, the Saints needed an onside kick. Smyth put a perfect reverse-spin on it — the helicopter onside, as it's known — and New Orleans recovered. The Saints couldn't convert and lost, but still: recovery rates on onside kicks under current rules hover around 5%. That's an absurd play. (The technique itself has precedent — Greg Zuerlein pulled it off for Dallas against Atlanta, and it's also called a "Watermelon" onside — but doing it on your NFL debut is something else entirely.)

3.6. The Game-Winner in Week 15

Two weeks later, Week 15: New Orleans fights back from a 17-7 deficit to tie the game, then Smyth hits a 47-yard walk-off field goal with six seconds left. First Saints walk-off field goal inside the final 10 seconds since 2022. The job was his.

After the game, head coach Kellen Moore gave him the game ball in the locker room while teammates chanted "Charlie!"

Because the three standard elevations had been used, the Saints followed up four days later with a new three-year contract. Quite a week.

3.7. Meanwhile, Back in Mayobridge

Side note: the scenes from Smyth's hometown are genuinely great. Mayobridge — roughly 1,000 people — has been watching games together at the local pub. A field goal to cut the deficit from 11 to 8 triggers a full bar eruption. A two-point attempt instead of a PAT gets booed. There are currently only two Irish starters in the entire NFL — Smyth and Green Bay's punter Daniel Whelan — and generating that kind of crowd energy for a punter is basically impossible.

3.8. The Job Isn't Safe Yet

Smyth closed the 2025 season with a Saints franchise-tying record 5-for-6 in Week 16 against the Jets (only miss: 61 yards), a career-long 57-yarder in Week 17, and a final line of 12-for-16 (75%) with a perfect 13-for-13 on PATs in six games. Solid numbers, and the clutch performances carry real weight — combine that with Tyler Shough's emergence around the same time New Orleans started winning, and Smyth's standing in the building looks secure heading into 2027.

That said, "secure" doesn't mean "safe." His new three-year deal is essentially at the league minimum with near-zero guarantees. New Orleans has already signed Texas kicker Mason Shipley as a UDFA this offseason. It's a competition again. That's the NFL.

4. The Other IPP Kickers: A Harder Reality

Charlie Smyth is the success story. To understand what these IPP kickers are actually up against, you need to look at everyone else.

4.1. Jude McAtamney (NYG): Got the Shot, Couldn't Hold On

McAtamney is also from Northern Ireland, also a Gaelic football background — but he took a different route, going through ProKick Australia and playing college ball at Chowan (D2) then Rutgers (FBS). He impressed New York scouts with a perfect 10-for-10 pro day and signed as a UDFA in 2024, developing in the IPP exemption spot while waiting behind Graham Gano.

When Gano got hurt in 2025, McAtamney finally got his regular-season window — and it unraveled immediately. He missed an extra point in Week 6 against Philadelphia, then two more in Week 7 against Denver, in a 32-33 loss. He was cut after the game. Briefly re-signed to the practice squad, then cut again November 24. The Giants cycled through Gano (returning), Koo, and eventually Ben Sauls. McAtamney was selected in the first round (6th overall) of the CFL Global Draft this week — still in the mix, but the NFL chapter may be on hold.

4.2. Lenny Krieg (ATL): Never Got a Real Look, Now With the Jets

Krieg grew up playing soccer in Germany, came through Leader Kicking, and had extensive ELF experience before the IPP route. His 2025 combine performance was exceptional: 14-for-14 on field goals from 35–55 yards. Atlanta signed him to a three-year deal with a signing bonus and guarantees — unusually favorable for a developmental kicker.

He competed hard in the 2025 preseason but couldn't beat out six-year Pro Bowl veteran Younghoe Koo. That felt expected. What happened next — when Koo missed a tying 43-yard field goal in the opener and got benched — should have been Krieg's moment. Instead, Atlanta signed John Parker Romo off the street. Romo had an elite Week 2 game, went cold, got cut three weeks later, and the Falcons brought in Zane Gonzalez. Krieg never got a meaningful snap. Raheem Morris was coaching for his job and wasn't running experiments. Fair enough, probably.

Krieg is now with the Jets for 2026. Nick Folk (excellent, 41 years old) just left and there will be an open competition.

4.3. Alex Hale (GB): Promising Trajectory, Derailed by Injury

Australian soccer background, Division I college experience at Oklahoma State as a walk-on, IPP contract with Green Bay in 2024. Unlike the others, Hale played a full season on Green Bay's practice squad and came back on a reserve/future deal — real developmental progress.

Then, during a pre-camp workout in 2025, he sustained an eye injury that cost him several weeks. The timing was catastrophic — Green Bay cut him and the IPP slot went to Mark McNamee. Hale has since signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL for 2026 — the same franchise, coincidentally, that drafted Matsuzawa.

4.4. Mark McNamee (GB): CFL to NFL and Back

Another Irish Gaelic football goalkeeper, another Leader Kicking discovery. McNamee's background is genuinely unusual: he was playing club Gaelic football while working as a software salesman until age 24, saw the NFL on TV, and decided that was enough to change his life. 13-for-14 at the combine. The Packers signed him as a UDFA in 2025, but with Hale already in the building, the path looked narrow — and the CFL's BC Lions had used a draft pick on him, so he went there first.

When Hale got hurt, Green Bay brought McNamee back on the IPP exemption. He made it through camp but couldn't break through with McManus on the depth chart. Waived, re-signed to practice squad, cut from the practice squad October 14. Back with BC Lions in 2026. (He and Smyth apparently train together sometimes. The footage of those sessions looks terrifying.)

5. What It Actually Takes to Stick Through the IPP Pipeline

Running through these case studies, a few things become clear.

5.1. The Development Year Is the Real Asset

The honest expectation for any IPP kicker — including Matsuzawa — is not to win the starting job outright in Year 1. Matt Gay has a track record, and the GM who drafted him is now running Las Vegas. The realistic best-case first chapter is: lose the initial competition, clear waivers, re-sign to the practice squad under the IPP exemption.

That's not failure. That's the program working as designed. What matters is how you use the time.

The IPP exemption gives you up to three seasons in an NFL building, working with NFL coaches, refining mechanics. Smyth didn't become a starter by arriving as a finished product — he got there through a full year of intensive work with John Carney, rebuilding his footwork from scratch.

Matsuzawa's big technical challenge will likely be the new kickoff rules. With touchbacks set at the 35-yard line and return rates sitting at 74.5% across the entire 2025 season, just booming it deep is no longer a viable strategy. The best kickers are now deploying directional kicks, low-trajectory liners, and no-spin "watermelon" balls to disrupt returns. Players like Joshua Karty have built careers almost entirely on kickoff mastery under the new format. For Matsuzawa — with genuine soccer ball-striking technique — this could be a real advantage once it's refined.

5.2. When the Chance Comes, It Comes Fast

Smyth's story illustrates both sides: the opportunity arrived suddenly and the margin for error was essentially zero. He nailed a 56-yarder on his NFL debut, recovered an onside kick, hit a walk-off in Week 15. That's why he has a starting job. McAtamney, given a similar window, went 0-for-3 on extra points and was on a flight home. It's brutal, but that's what the position demands.

Matsuzawa's track record offers real encouragement here — 26 consecutive field goals in college doesn't happen without a reliable pressure response. But the IPP kicker waiting for their shot needs to be ready to perform without a warmup period.

Context matters, too. Every IPP kicker who actually got regular-season chances did so with a rebuilding team, not a contender. The Saints (Kellen Moore's first year rebuilding) and Giants (also in a youth movement) gave their IPP kickers live reps. Green Bay and Atlanta — both competing for playoff spots with established veterans — kept their developmental kickers on ice all year. Las Vegas, entering 2026 under a new head coach with a rookie quarterback, looks structurally closer to a Saints situation than a Packers one. That matters for the timeline.

And if Las Vegas cuts ties this summer, that doesn't close the book. McNamee is in the CFL, Hale is in the CFL, and Matsuzawa was himself drafted in the CFL. Jake Bates' path — released, dominated the UFL, signed by Detroit, became a breakout star — is a real template. Keep kicking somewhere. The opportunity tends to come back around.

6. The Bottom Line

The scenarios for Matsuzawa this year range from walking onto the Raiders' Week 1 roster, to developing on Las Vegas' practice squad for a season or more, to getting released and kicking in the CFL or UFL. All of those are still live paths. None of them are closed.

The noise over the next few months — roster cuts, practice squad designations, elevation decisions — will be continuous. But the bigger story arc is longer than any single preseason evaluation. Wherever this goes, Matsuzawa's run at the NFL isn't going to be decided in August.

For what it's worth: this season, I'm watching Charlie Smyth (this man needs a nickname — The Belfast Boot, something) and Kansei Matsuzawa with the same level of investment. Both have earned it.

Thanks for reading.

One more observation before we close.

This piece touched on two significant programs — Australia's ProKick Australia, which has been systematically routing punters and kickers into NCAA programs for years, and Ireland's Leader Kicking, which has already placed multiple players into the IPP pipeline within three years of founding. These aren't talent scouts handing out business cards at local games. They're end-to-end systems: identification, skill development, visa support, academic preparation for NCAA eligibility, and direct outreach to NFL scouts.

What Matsuzawa pulled off — teaching himself via YouTube, sending his own tapes, transferring colleges while competing at a high level — is genuinely exceptional. Most people cannot do that. Japan would benefit enormously from a structured program that builds a similar bridge for Japanese athletes in other sports who might have the physical tools to convert to specialist positions. The long arc of that story might eventually involve Matsuzawa himself building it — but right now, the gap is real.

8. References

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