Younghoe Koo

Younghoe Koo (born August 3, 1994) is a South Korean-born American football placekicker who is currently a free agent. He played college football for the Georgia Southern Eagles, earning all-conference honors in the Sun Belt Conference as a senior. He became a starter for the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2017 before being released four weeks into the season.

Early life

Koo was born in Seoul, South Korea, to Seungmae Choi and Hyunseo Koo.^[1] He played soccer growing up, and won a regional kicking competition.^[2] He attended sixth grade in the United States after moving to New Jersey to live with his mother, who had gone to the country two years earlier to become a nurse while Koo's father remained in Seoul as a university professor.^[3]

Koo played on the football team for Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He was named team MVP his senior season, contributing on both special teams and defense, where he tallied six interceptions.^[4][5]

College career

Koo was a four-year contributor for the Georgia Southern Eagles, earning all-Sun Belt first team honors in his final season, during which he converted 19 of 20 field goal attempts. Koo was also named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the best college kicker in the nation.^[6] At the conclusion of his college career, Koo ultimately converted 88.6% of his field goal attempts, a Georgia Southern team record.^[7]

Professional career

Koo signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft.^[8] He won the starting job over incumbent kicker Josh Lambo following the conclusion of the preseason.^[9] He became the fourth player in NFL history to be born in South Korea.^{[lower-alpha 1]} In the 2017 season opener at Denver, Koo's game-tying 44-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds of the game was blocked by the Broncos' Shelby Harris, and the Chargers lost 24–21.^[11] The kick had little chance of succeeding after Denver overwhelmed the Chargers' line on the play.^[12] An earlier attempt by Koo was successful, but it was called off after the Broncos had called a timeout right before the snap.^[11] The following week, Koo missed a game-winning 44-yard attempt in a 19–17 loss to Miami.^[12] The following two weeks, he converted both field goal attempts and four extra points. However, the 0–4 Chargers waived him after Week 4, replacing him with 10-year veteran Nick Novak. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn stated that he wanted "someone with a little more consistency and experience" than Koo.^[13][14]

Notes

References