Arizona Christian's Nestor Higuera grew from diamond in the rough to championship kicker

“You focus on the kick, not the player."

These were the words of former NFL kicker Luis Zendejas when he was trying to convince Arizona Christian University coaches to recruit Nestor Manuel Higuera.

After running clinics for the Arizona Cardinals in which Higuera participated, Zendejas saw the plus-size athlete as a "diamond in the rough" by watching him kick the ball with power worthy of an NCAA player.

However, there was something unusual about Higuera: He did not fit the prototype of the tall, slim kicker. Higuera is 5-feet-5 and weighs 285 pounds, uncommon vitals for a football specialist.

“Until a few years ago I didn't know how to kick the ball. I hit it hard, far, but without direction. When my coach told me, 'Kick it this way,' I managed to kick it perfectly and the coaches were surprised and said, this is the kicker we need,” said Higuera, who booted five 60-yard field goals during his workouts.

The coaches weren't wrong. Higuera made team history on March 27 by kicking a last-second, 49-yard field goal to catapult ACU to a 23-20 win over Southwestern Assemblies of God University, clinching the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship.

No one had ever made a field goal that long before at ACU.

The video of that moment went viral on social networks and Higuera, nicknamed by his teammates as "El Pie," or "La Bota," has become very popular.

"Before she passed away, my Nana (grandmother) gave me this advice: Your foot is going to take you wherever you want to be, and I never forget that," Higuera said.

And it is his foot that has led him to great things.

Higuera was 2 years old when he started kicking balls. When he was 6, his parents registered him on a soccer team where he began to play goalkeeper, inspired by his idol Oswaldo Sánchez, one of the greatest keepers in Mexico soccer history.

Higuera has had a stocky build since he was little, but has been able to use his size to his advantage on the playing field.

"I've been big all my life," he said. "I have photos of me as a kid and I've always been big. One thing I've always done is work at this weight. I do everything I can 100 percent, and it's worked for me."

Higuera was 17 when he decided to go to a football tryout and try his luck. Out of dozens of candidates he was one of three chosen to stay on the team. He currently is in his third year in the ACU program.

"My goals are set by God, but the dreams I have are to get to a big university or play pro in the NFL or (indoor football)," he said.

His favorite team is the Green Bay Packers, and his inspiration is Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker. "I identify with him because he is a player who is very accurate and very consistent in his kicking. If he misses a kick, he never looks down. That's me too. I never get discourage. I look up and think about what's next."

ACU followed up the win over SAGU with a 42-7 win at Wayland Baptist on April 10. The Firestorm (9-1) qualified for their first appearance in the NAIA Football Championship Series, and will play at Keiser University (7-0) in West Palm Beach, Florida, at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

For Zendejas, an Arizona State product who kicked for three seasons in the NFL and had stints in the Arena and Canadian leagues, Higuera has everything it takes to make it to the NFL.

“I can put him to compete with (NCAA) Division I players or even with kickers from the NFL and he competes with them," Zendejas said. "He's not going to miss any kicks of less than 52 yards."

Another plus in Higuera's favor is his humility, Zendejas said. "He never makes excuses to train, he drives from the west side to Chandler to come practice with me and he is very constant, he also likes to give advice to children who are just starting out, he has a big heart."

Regarding the kicker's weight, Zendejas said that appearance has nothing to do with performance. What matters is talent, the desire to compete and, above all, perseverance in training, which are qualities that he sees in Higuera.

"There's Sebastian Janikowski, a kicker who was always a heavyweight but with great talent that kept him in the NFL for 19 years," Zendejas said. “Higuera is going there. He does not mind being chubby, in practice he is the first to take off his shirt to run. He is comfortable with himself. He has no complexes and I love that about him.”

He added that "Manny," as he calls him, is an inspiration today for many Latino children who, because they are overweight, give up playing soccer because other people make fun of them because of appearance.

"Some people have sent messages to Nestor thanking him for being an example for them," Zendejas said.

Higuera awaits the arrival of summer to travel to Rancho La Cuesta in Sinaloa, Mexico, his father's hometown, where his family gathers for vacations.

There he plays soccer, volleyball, and baseball with his cousins, and eats a lot of mangos, since his vacations coincide with the high season of these fruits that he likes so much.

Another of his passions is cooking. When he was 10 his parents taught him how to cook. "When I have time I cook for my family. What I cook best are chilaquiles and shrimp, delicious," he said.

Higuera, 21, is studying to be a teacher. He wants to obtain a license to teach special needs children. He also dreams of becoming a kids' football coach.