National Football League

How Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez turned OCD into his 'superpower'

Published Jan. 16, 2025 12:55 p.m. ET

Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez had no idea how closely the NBC broadcast monitored him in the final four minutes of Washington's wild-card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday. But the NFL world scrutinized his every move — and viewers witnessed how narrowly Gonzalez's kick would (off the bar!?!) go through the uprights.

He simply went through his normal routine to prepare to kick. Gonzalez has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which he calls his "superpower" when he's kicking.

As quarterback Jayden Daniels led an impressive four-minute drive, the closing moments sped by, and Gonzalez knew he'd be needed to kick the game-winner. He fixed his sock, conducted a few practice kicks and then fixed his sock again. And while he would usually get his helmet on before stepping onto the field, he ran out of time. On his way to set up for the kick, he repeatedly touched his hair and started to put the helmet on — before repeating the process three times.

Some mistook it for vanity or superstition. But this has been his routine since seventh grade: the sock, the hair, the helmet. It's a ritual rooted in his OCD.

"It's pretty much just my typical routine I would say. A lot of people don't ever see it, just because I know it looks a little funky. So I try to do it as under the radar as I can," Gonzalez told FOX Sports. "But obviously, being on a bigger stage, bigger game and all that kind of stuff, it got a little bit more highlighted. But for me, it was just making sure I was mentally and physically prepped to go."

He hit the kick and delivered Washington's first playoff win in almost 7,000 days.

Gonzalez does his pre-kick routine, in part because he's fighting off intrusive thoughts that can stir up before kicks.

"Oh no, the world's going to end if this doesn't happen," Gonzalez said.

He likened it to golfers preparing for a shot or MLB players stepping up for an at-bat. Look at golfer Brian Harman, who is notorious for his waggle, a pre-shot routine to loosen his arms, slow down his thinking and prepare for the shot. Look at retired Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who ritualistically pulled on his gloves and rocked back and forth in the batter's box before waiting for a pitch.

Every time.

"For me, they're good cues to like, ‘Hey, lock in here, like fix the helmet, you're about to kick the ball.' It kind of gives you those little tidbits to be more on your game," Gonzalez said. "For me, that's been tremendous. …. It gives you the ability to re-lock in each and every time within that routine."

The 29-year-old Gonzalez, who joined Washington in November following an injury to starter Austin Seibert, has played for six different franchises. His NFL career started with the Browns, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2017 out of Arizona State. In seven games this year (including the postseason), he has hit eight of 10 field-goal attempts and 21 of 21 extra points. And he's headed to the NFC divisional round against the Lions on Saturday.

It's fitting that he got the Commanders through a playoff draught, because prior to taking over for Seibert, he hadn't attempted an NFL kick since December 2021 with the Panthers. Gonzalez suffered a groin injury where the muscle tore away from the bone, which required surgery. And after he'd recovered fully from the injury, he had an emergency appendectomy.

"It was one thing after another," his father, Joseph Gonzalez, told FOX Sports. "This is where the positive side of OCD comes into it: that perfection. He's got to be a certain way. Everything's planned out. He sets goals for himself, and he strives to achieve those goals and then some."

Every day while waiting for an NFL team to call, Gonzalez woke up at 6 a.m. to run. He'd log two to three hours at the local high school to work on his placekicking and field-goal technique. When he finally got the call from Washington, he was ready to join the Commanders' practice squad. And when they promoted him, he was ready to take over the starting job.

Few people outside the team knew that Gonzalez has OCD when he went to take the kick on Sunday. The response, initially, wasn't particularly sensitive, with broadcasters and social media poking fun at him. That bothered his dad and his wife, but Gonzalez says it didn't bother him. "I kick for a living; you kind of learn to have a thicker skin," he said. Gonzalez tries to focus on the positive. He heard from children, teenagers and adults who have OCD — or have a loved one with OCD.

That prompted conversation and more understanding of the disorder.

"It's pretty cool to see the reaction and know that there's other people out there that suffer with it as well," Gonzalez said. "You feel like you're alone a little bit. I'm very aware of what it looks like. It does look goofy. I'm very conscious and aware of what it looks like. But just being able to see that other people can relate and support and just understand that, ‘Hey, it is what it is. I mean, it's just another tic.' … I feel like it's relatively normal."

That doesn't mean there aren't days when Gonzalez struggles. He spends extra time doing dishes and brushing his teeth. At night, he has to turn off the lights multiple times. He can't just blow his nose once. He can't pick up a cup without touching the bottom.

On the day of his playoff debut, he had a relaxing morning in Tampa: a long walk in the warm weather, Sunday Mass and meetings with the team. It was an easy day. But on Tuesday — the day of our phone call — Gonzalez chuckled about struggling to get to work.

It was early in the morning and his wife and newborn baby were still sleeping. He left the house, locked the back door then the front door.

"In my head, I'm like, OK, ‘Did I lock the back door?' And then at that point, you have to do it three times — or whatever the number is in my head — and I'll be walking back and forth. And it's kind of funny, because the dogs are like, ‘Alright, what is he doing?'" Gonzalez said.

He can laugh about it now. Back in college, he was more self-conscious about it. But there are frustrating days, no doubt.

"That's where it gets a little tedious. Where I'm just like, ‘OK, why can't I just lock everything once and walk out and have that peace of mind? Why is it constantly something?' And that's where it gets a little triggering at times, where I'm just like upset. I'm like, OK, this is kind of getting annoying. It created anger issues at times."

Though he's humble about his journey, Gonzalez has come a long way.

"It was much worse as a kid," his father said. "If you ever were to go into his bedroom in elementary school, everything was in perfect order. If you were to go in there and just rearrange his shoes just a little bit, like move them an inch to the side, he would notice it right off the bat, and be upset, and then put it all back in order. He would get aggravated sometimes. As a parent, you just have to be patient."

That's also what makes his ability to complete field goals so impressive. There's a play clock, an NFL audience (in the stadium and on the broadcast) and the game on the line. While it might seem daunting to have to manage OCD in such a pressurized environment (with a literal countdown), Gonzalez actually embraces the play clock and the pace of the game. In fact, he said that sometimes the speed prevents him from overthinking.

"There's nothing, nothing better than a big, deep breath that can just calm your nerves, calm everything, get your mind steady and just lock in on what you're about to do in that five seconds of kicking the field goal," he said.

It's taken time for Gonzalez to learn to manage the process. Joseph said that Zane specifically picked Arizona State because of the big stage. ASU's stadium holds almost 54,000 fans — not far off from the Commanders' stadium (62,000).

"If the opportunity arose where he could go into the NFL, he would already have that in his background to where he knew how to handle high pressure situations," Joseph said. "He always planned things out a certain way so he could be successful."

Gonzalez has always had a plan. Even in junior high, he told his dad he'd kick in college and win the Lou Groza Award, given to the best kicker in college football. And that's exactly what Zane did. On the football field, he works with his OCD, not against it.

"It makes me who I am," Gonzalez said. "It makes me better."

Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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