Arizona Christian Athletics
Many college football players call it quits after realizing they don’t have what it takes to make it to the NFL, but many others keep their dream alive by playing in other pro leagues. That includes Manny Higuera, the Absolute Unit of a punter who has taken the internet by storm thanks to a clip captured during an Arena Football One game.
Football teams tend to have some massive human beings on their roster given the nature of the sport, but players tasked with kicking and punting tend to be pretty unassuming compared to the guys who are expected to throw their bodies around when they head out onto the field.
With that said, there are certainly some exceptions to that rule—and that definitely includes Nestor “Manny” Higuera.
I’m assuming most people reading this aren’t keeping close tabs on the Arena Football One league, but Higuera is currently serving as the kicker for the Washington Wolfpack and recently found himself at the center of a viral clip where he was blindsided by a hit delivered by an opposing player who firmly earned the flag that was thrown.
Units are kickers too pic.twitter.com/zYlOfUCXeU
— Coach Duggs (@CoachDuggs) June 16, 2025
This isn’t the first time Higuera has found himself thrust into the spotlight online.
In 2021, he got plenty of attention online after the internet discovered the football team at Arizona Christian University boasts a 5’5″ player who weighed in at 285 pounds prior to the start of the season—one who also nailed a drop kick in an AF1 game earlier this year (the Wolfpack officially list him as 270 lbs.)
Remember Manny Higuera? The Big Time Field Goal Kicker? Well he is playing in the @af1football and he just dropped kicked a ball through the uprights! pic.twitter.com/0EcaRP97f8
— Draft Diamonds ™️ (@DraftDiamonds) June 1, 2025
As The Athletic reported at the time, the Arizona native grew up playing soccer as a goaltender before the football coach at his high school recruited him to serve as a kicker during his junior year, and former Eagles kicker Luis Zendejas invited him to train with him after Higuera impressed at a kicking camp the retired NFLer helped organize.
He ultimately played at Arizona Christian while nailing 15 of the 18 field goals and 44 of the 46 extra points he attempted during the four years he spent with the Firestorm.
He graduated with a master’s degree in education and previously said he wants to be a teacher who works with special needs students, and you have to respect his efforts to keep his football dreams alive before embarking on a new path.