Hawaii special teams coordinator Thomas Sheffield is not waiting for the envelope to open to declare a winner.

“I will say this, and I mean no disrespect, he’s the best kicker in the country,” Sheffield said of Japan-reared Kansei Matsuzawa. “We don’t need an award to tell us that. And he doesn’t need an award to tell him that. He knows he’s the best kicker in the country. We know he’s the best kicker in the country.”

Matsuzawa, Aidan Birr of Georgia Tech and Tate Sandell of Oklahoma are the finalists for the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best college kicker. Sheffield accompanied Matsuzawa to the organization’s awards banquet in West Palm Beach, Fla., this past Monday. The Groza winner will be announced live on ESPN this Friday at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

“For him

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