Matthew Ryan Araiza is a popular punter who currently plays for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He attended San Diego State University, where he participated in college football.
Araiza spent his childhood in San Diego, California, and had his secondary education at Rancho Bernardo High School, where he participated in both football and track and field, excelling as a hurdler.
As a placekicker, he was named to the All-America team twice and scored 37 field goals during his career. Araiza chose San Diego State University over offers from both the University of Massachusetts and the University of Montana to play college football.
While Araiza was acting as the backup to All-Mountain West Conference kicker John Baron II during his true freshman season, Araiza redshirted instead of participating in the game.
As a redshirt freshman, he was given the position of placekicker for the team. He set a school record by kicking a school-record 22 field goals out of a total of 26 attempts and was selected honorable mention All-Mountain West.
Araiza was honored with honorable mention All-Mountain West status for a second consecutive season when he made 10 of 14 field goal tries during SDSU’s COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and received the award.
During the team’s first game, which was played against UNLV, he was also responsible for punting, and he had an average of 49.8 yards on his five attempts.
Is Matt Araiza a kicker?
Matt Araiza is a kicker/Punter. Araiza was recognized as the best punter in the country, earning him the Ray Guy Award.
When he was chosen with the 180th pick on Saturday, he was the fourth kicker taken in the draft.