, born December 29, 1982) is a Japanese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

wide receiver who currently plays for the Obic Seagulls of the X-League. He was signed by the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...

in 2005. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Ritsumeikan is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

Early years

Kinoshita began playing American football at the age of five, demonstrating early talent. He played in various positions: quarterback, running back, receiver, defensive back and on special teams, before settling as receiver at Ritsumeikan University, after his coach advised him that he would have the best chance in making the team if he stuck with that position.World Bowl XIV interview.
/ref>

College career

He attended

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

, where he majored in business administration and was a standout wide receiver for the Ritsumeikan Panthers. He helped his team reach four

Koshien Bowl The Koshien Bowl (甲子園ボウル) is the annual Japanese American college football national championship game, usually played in December at Koshien Stadium. From the 1949 season until 2008 season, the game was held as the final game of Japan ...

s, winning three, and helping the Panthers win 2 out of those 3

Rice Bowl The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; and C ...

(Japanese championship) games. He earned

honors three times ( Mills Cup, MVP, NFL Special Award).Ritsumeikan University Interview
/ref>

Professional career

Amsterdam Admirals

He struggled throughout the 2005 season due to an injury early on (broken finger), and difficulties with English conversation and crowd noise. He posted one reception for 12 yards and 21 yards on a single kickoff return. He was a member of the Admirals team that won the first

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...

in their franchise history;

World Bowl XIII World Bowl XIII, officially known as Yello Strom World Bowl XIII, was NFL Europe's 2005 championship game. It was played at the LTU arena in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 11, 2005. In this match-up, the 6–4 Amsterdam Admirals got back to the W ...

. Kinoshita had a standout season in 2006, helping the

ascend to a

XIV berth for the second year in a row. He led

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

on kickoff returns with an average of 27.9 for a total of 530 yards in 19 attempts with a long of 82 yards, in addition to a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown as well as 12 receptions for a total of 188 yards as a receiver. He was named Special Teams Player of the Week twice and selected to the all-

team 2006 as special teams player. He returned to the

for his third

season. In 2007, Kinoshita led NFL Europa with a 15.9-yard punt return average and ranked third with a 23.2-yard kickoff-return average. He also added 23 receptions for 364 yards and two touchdowns in what would be the final season of NFL Europa.

Atlanta Falcons

On June 28, Kinoshita signed with his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, and competed throughout training camp for a roster spot. "I am very excited to compete at the Falcons' training camp with other great players," says Kinoshita. "It is exciting as a Japanese player to compete with American players, and I want to appeal to the fans in Atlanta. At the same time, I want to show the Japanese people how exciting the great game of football is." He was released by the Falcons at the end of training camp.Atlanta Falcons Player Page.
/ref> On July 23, 2008, Kinoshita was assigned to the Falcons as an

International Practice Squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

player. Kinoshita is the only Japanese player of the 16 international players to sign onto NFL practice squads.

New York Sentinels

Along with players such as

Adam Archuleta Adam Jason Archuleta (born November 27, 1977) is a former professional American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Arizona State, and was selected in the first round o ...

and B. J. Sams, Kinoshita was drafted in the first ever UFL draft by the

New York Sentinels New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Obic Seagulls

As of May 2011, Kinoshita was playing for the Obic Seagulls in Japan's X-League. In 2019, he caught three touchdowns in Obic's 31-15 victory over IBM Big Blue in the Pearl Bowl and was named the game's MVP.

Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinoshita, Noriaki 1982 births Living people American football in Japan American football wide receivers Amsterdam Admirals players Atlanta Falcons players Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Japanese expatriates in the Netherlands Japanese players of American football People from Toyonaka, Osaka Ritsumeikan University alumni