Transcript: Kicker Younghoe Koo

Kicker Younghoe Koo

November 6, 2025

Q: How ready do you feel to kick if you're called upon? (Head coach Brian) Daboll said they're getting you ready to kick this week. How ready do you feel after all the time here on the practice squad?

KOO: Very ready. I'm ready to go.

Q: (Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial) Ghobi made it seem like it took some time for you to get comfortable with the operation. He made it seem like you have a very specific way of getting your operation down that maybe is a little different than everybody else's. Can you talk about that a little bit?

KOO: I think every kicker has a different thing, so it's not really like I'm coming in here and it's like, ‘oh, I want it this way.’ Everybody has a different way of doing things, and I had enough time to get it ready with the guys. So, I feel ready to go if I'm up.

Q: What's it been like for you to be here? You came here for an opportunity, and now you've been here. First time really on a practice squad to deal with it. What's it been like? What have the challenges been? Has it been good for you in a sense to be able to focus on yourself a little bit? What's it been like?

KOO: Yeah, it's been great. How I feel, I'm grateful for the opportunity. I’ve been making it count every week, week in and week out, just staying ready for an opportunity.

Q: Is it strange, to have kicked in this league for as long as you have? I mean, guys talk about veterans, when they're on the practice squad, it's a different world. For a kicker, I would imagine it's even more challenging because you're not kicking every day. What has that been like?

KOO: At the end of the day, I get an opportunity to be on a team and just work on my craft, so I'm grateful for that opportunity to be here.

Q: I don't think we talked to you when it happened. The last time (kicker) Graham (Gano) got hurt, they went with (kicker) Jude (McAtamney). Did you feel slighted by that at all, given your resume and all? Did you feel like that should have been you?

KOO: No. I mean, as a competitor, sure, you want to see the field. But at the same time, Jude's been here, he was kicking well in practice, that's not my decision. All I can do is come in and just kick well week in and week out, day in and day out, and just see where that takes me.

Q: You've kicked in this league for a long time, but if you get the chance, will it be a little different kicking for the team that's 10 minutes from where you grew up?

KOO: Sure. I mean, I grew up right by. It is, but at the same time, field and football, uprights, none of that changes, right? So, you’ve just got to get the job done.

Q: What's it like with the environment for kickers? Obviously, in Atlanta, you were indoors mainly, but when you're kicking outside, what is that challenge like for you as a kicker?

KOO: Kicking indoors, sure, but in Atlanta, too, we practiced outside, we had outdoor games, we played in Chicago, we played in different places, so you know how to deal with the elements. You’ve just got to see what the wind and stuff is like on game day, and then just adjust from there.

Q: You mentioned playing in Chicago. What is it like when the wind is going up there? What's that like for you as a kicker to try to prepare for that?

KOO: The good thing is out here, you get the same wind. Different kind of wind patterns out here. You get all kinds of elements, so you get to work on that. So, trusting in the preparation, and then pregame, you kind of go through what the wind is doing and make adjustments from there.

Q: Are you eager to reprove yourself or whatever, or have a chip on your shoulder at all after getting cut by Atlanta and now you get a chance to show that, hey, I can still do it?

KOO: Sure. As a competitor, that's there. Definitely want to get on the field and prove that I know I can do and just show what I can do.

Q: How have you fed that need for that competitive edge? For you, you were always a competitor. When you're not in the games on the weekends, how do you find a way to kind of satisfy that?

KOO: I just go back to the routine, just the process of it. So, kicking on Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, if it's an away game, home game, I'll come up here and kick. Try to stay in the routine so that I'm ready to go if my name's called.