NFL: Meet Arizona Christians’ 285 lbs kicker Nestor Higuera, a viral sensation after epic kick

Every sports fan gets a kick out of seeing a big man doing something he doesn’t appear built for. In the NFL, for example, few moments cause more of a stir up in the rafters than when a big DT recovers from a fumble and sets off on a 30-yard stampede towards the endzone, dragging skinny offensive playmakers through the turf en route.

Little surprise then that 5’5, 285 lbs kicker, Nestor Higuera went viral earlier in the week when he kicked a game-clinching field goal in the Conference Championship for the Arizona Christians.

Higuera launched a 46-yard field goal that split the posts to help his team beat Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Saturday, clinching the Sooner Athletic Conference for the Firestorm.

Former Colts punter and and host of the Pat McAfee show, Pat McAfee was clearly impressed by his young counterpart’s exploits in college football. The former NFL star, who made two Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro in 2014 during his storied career, took to Twitter to salute Higuera’s game-winning three-pointer.

The game itself was a riveting contest topped off with an epic finale: Arizona Christians gave up a game-tying TD with a little under a minute left to play. The offense retook the turf and quickly marched back down the field, putting Nestor Higuera in position to secure a momentous 46-yards win from the posts.

It wasn’t the first time the bulky kicker has had success in the year either: Higuera has proven himself to be a consistent threat with the right boot, notching up 37 of 39 PATs and 7 of 10 on field goals over during the Firestorm’s championship-winning campaign. Saturday’s game-winner was most certainly the icing on the cake for the big man, however.

Interestingly, Nestor isn’t even the biggest kicker in his family. Brother, Juaquin Rodriguez, who is a freshman kicker at ACU, is 5’7 tall, and weighs in at an astonishing 287 lbs.

I think we can all agree that it’s great to see. Hats off to the Higuera family for showing us all that we can eat all the food we want and still play college football

What’s your favorite sporting moment featuring a big man? Have your say in the comments section below:

Published 29 Mar 2021, 23:32 IST