Fans stunned at 5-foot-5, 270lb pro football player as video of him getting brutally tackled goes viral

An arena football kicker is going viral not because of a long field goal or a perfectly executed punt. Instead, it's because this kicker isn't your prototypical football player.

Nestor 'Manny' Higuera plays for the Washington Wolfpack in the Arena Football 1 league and has gained notoriety for more than just his athletic abilities.

That's because Higuera stands at 5-foot-5 and weighs 270 pounds.

Those dimensions are not typically seen on a football field - and especially not on a kicker's frame.

Yet, Higuera has managed to carve out a niche in professional football and has done well for himself.

Higuera was filmed completing a punt for the Wolfpack in their lopsided 98-12 loss on Saturday and that spread across social media.

This isn't the first time that Higuera has gone viral. Back in 2021, he nailed a 46-yard game-winning field goal for NAIA-level Arizona Christian University to win their conference championship. 

Higuera began playing soccer growing up in Arizona when his high school's football coach offered him a spot on the team.

'When I first started, the farthest kick I kicked was like 55 (yards),' Higuera said in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on the back of his first viral moment years ago. 

'I knew I always had the leg strength from soccer. On goal kicks, I could hit it three-fourths of the field. 

'If I made good contact, I would put the ball like 10 yards away from the 18-yard box on the other side. So I always knew I had the power and the leg strength for it. 

'But switching to football was a little difficult. After I got the hang of it, I was just able to kick and put the ball far.'

Higuera attended kicking camps to hone his skills, leading to a successful college career where he went 20-for-24 on field goals and 67-for-72 on PATs.

That led to the AF1, where he's scored 40 total points across 12 games played.