Redshirt Freshman Kicker Watanabe Stepping Up For No. 15 Eagles

As starts to collegiate playing careers go, Ashland University redshirt freshman kicker Manaki Watanabe has had a pretty good one:

• On Saturday (Nov. 1) in a 23-16 win over Walsh at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, Watanabe snuck a school-record 59-yard field goal in as the second quarter expired for a 13-10 halftime advantage. The field goal broke the school record by seven yards (52 yards by Gary Kester in 1969).
• He is NCAA Division II's leader in field-goal percentage this season, having made 14-of-15 attempts. Those 14 field goals are second-most in D-II this fall, and are three away from tying Aidan Simenc's single-season program record of 17, set in 2017.
• Nineteen of his 46 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks.
• Watanabe has been the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's special teams Athlete of the Week twice in the last three weeks, and is the reigning D-II Fred Mitchell Award (top kicker) winner.

Watanabe is the Eagles' leading scorer (71 points) going into the No. 15 Eagles' (8-1 overall, 7-0 Great Midwest) home game vs. No. 9 Findlay (9-0, 7-0) on Saturday (Nov. 8) at 1 p.m. - in a game which the winner earns at least a share of the 2025 league championship.
 
"It's been a blast," said Watanabe. "Since spring ball, everybody had confidence in me. It's been going well, so I can't complain."
 
"I was cautiously optimistic, based on what I saw in the spring," said Ashland head coach Doug Geiser. "I love his make-up. But no, you couldn't have anticipated the production that he's had. Just reliability and the peace of mind he's given me."
 
Said Eagle kicking coach and Director of Football Operations A.J. Nickoli, "I didn't know what the numbers would end up being. When I watch kicker film on HUDL highlights, I take it with a pretty big grain of salt. I saw a lot in the film…it looked like good contact, it looked like good technique, good ball flight, all that stuff, so I was excited to get him down here.
 
"As each week's gone, there's more and more confidence growing in him."
 
Watanabe redshirted in 2024, watching veteran kicker A.J. Rhodes in preparation for this fall.
 
"A.J. was a role model, a super-mature guy," said Watanabe. "He got me ready for this season."
 
Watanabe came to campus last year from Novi, Mich., a suburb of Detroit.
 
"My kicking coach back home has a partner, and he's based in Massillon, and that's how he got me connected," he said.
 
Of the 59-yard field goal – a kick which broke the school record by distance by 13.5 percent – Geiser said, "I asked him Sunday in the team meeting, 'Does that mean you're going to ask me that anything inside of 60 is your range?' I'm happy for him. It was a big point in the game, too."
 
Prior to the kick, the Cavaliers called timeout – a time-honored "icing" technique.
 
"For me, it actually helps me. It gives me more time to calm down," Watanabe said. "After the time out, I got a couple minutes to calm down and get my mind ready."
 
Watanabe spoke about his faith in God, and how Saturday's proceedings were woven into that.
 
"I've always believed in God, but I've never actually gotten to know Him," he said. "All my friends are believers, and they started talking to me. I started going to FCAs every Tuesday, and I love it.
 
"Before the game, it was my first time getting down on one knee and actually praying before the game. The opportunity to kick that 59-yarder, I knew the Lord was with me when that happened."
 
Ashland has won four games so far this season decided by eight points or less. With a key game on Saturday approaching – as well as potential NCAA Division II postseason contests – having a reliable kicker is a must.
 
"It's very nice to know that once you get into the red zone…once you get into a relatively typical kicking situation, you have the numbers on your side," Nickoli said. "When we do have to settle for a field goal, I know that I've got a lot of confidence in the guy going out there."