The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Koo ready for new start with Falcons
One punt in sixth grade and pals convinced him to give football a shot.
FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo moved from South Korea to the United States in the sixth grade. He was already a fine young soccer player.
“I didn’t know what football was when I first moved here,” Koo said. “During lunch and recess, they were playing touch football. That’s how I got into it.”
Some future recruiters must have been classmates. “I kind of punted it and all of the kids were, like, surprised how far I punted,” Koo said. “They talked me into playing organized football.”
He started playing for his New Jersey middle school in seventh grade.
“It took a little bit to figure it out because it is a different swing,” Koo said. “But at the end of the
day, it was just kicking. Just a different ball. It kind of came naturally to me.”
He wasn’t aware that having a strong leg could lead to a college scholarship — and possibly pro football.
“At first, we didn’t know,” Koo said. “My parents didn’t know what football was either. My middle school coach kind of explained to my parents that ‘hey, he has an opportunity here.’ ”
Koo, now 25, would go on to play at Ridgewood High in New Jersey, where he caught the attention of former Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken, who’s now at Army.
“I took a visit to Georgia Southern and fell in love with it,” Koo said. “I don’t know what it was — the Southern hospitality or the food, maybe.”
Koo became the first kicker in Georgia Southern’s history to be named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award. He set a school record for career field goal percentage (31 of 35, 88.6%) and made the All-Sun Belt team. After going undrafted in 2017, Koo was signed by the San Diego Chargers and won the opening-day job. But after four games, the Chargers cut Koo and replaced him with 10-year veteran Nick Novak.
Koo elected to stay in the San Diego area and work on his kicking with John Carney, who kicked in the NFL from 1988-2010.
“I just tried to perfect my craft,” Koo said. “That helped a lot, learning from a kicker who had been in the league for 23 years. That was a great learning experience.”
The phone didn’t immediately ring. Koo’s next opportunity came with the Atlanta Legends of the now-defunct Alliance of American Football. For the Legends, Koo was a perfect 14- of -14 on his attempts, his longest at 38 yards.
“That helped because it showed what I’d learned over the last year and a half since the Chargers,” Koo said. After the league folded, he had a tryout with the Chicago Bears before he was signed to the New England Patriots’ practice squad on Oct. 14.
Koo was hopeful that he’d get another shot in the NFL.
“I kept believing and working on my craft and what I can control and not the things that I couldn’t control,” Koo said. “I was just focusing on me.”
He worked out for the Falcons last Monday and was signed.
“I was just staying ready and was waiting for the next opportunity,” Koo said. “I’ve been waiting for a couple of years now. It was great to get that call.”
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said he felt Koo could kick in the NFL for a long time, but still cut him after the team got off to an 0-4 start.
“That experience really helped me in terms of staying ready because you know what it’s like in there,” Koo said. “You know what to expect when you get in the games. You know what kind of routine you need to come up with to stay ready for the next opportunity.”
With the Falcons, Koo knows he’s attempting to replace the popular Matt Bryant, who was released after going 2 of 6 on field goals from 50 yards or more and missing a potential game-tying extra point against Arizona.
“It’s been easy,” Koo said. “All of these guys have been helpful with kind of getting me used to a new environment.”