FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo, after making two game-winning kicks at the buzzer this season, has a lot of respect in the locker room.
A few players called him “Automatic Koo” this past week.
He made a 36-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Falcons to a 30-28 victory over the Dolphins on Sunday. Earlier in the season, he made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Falcons to a 17-14 victory against the Giants on Sept. 26.
With those two kicks, the Falcons are 3-3 and set to face the Carolina Panthers (3-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“For our players, if you look at the sidelines, our guys are calm because not only Koo, but the other 10 men on the field,” Falcons special-teams coordinator Marquice Williams said Thursday.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith is a major supporter.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Younghoe,” Smith said. “I say this all the time, that’s not an easy position to break into this league. Most of the times, those guys get cut.”
It wasn’t an easy road for Koo, who came to the United States from Korea in the sixth grade and later played at Georgia Southern. He wasn’t drafted and then was cut by the Chargers.
He kicked for the now defunct-Atlanta Legends of the American Alliance of Football. Bounced around the camp circuit and had stints with the Bears and Patriots before landing with the Falcons in 2019 as Matt Bryant’s second replacement after Giorgio Tavecchio’s failed attempt to win the job.
“There’s a little cottage industry of guys on the West Coast or there’s an old teammate of mine in Charlotte who’s got his own kicking thing,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be tough-minded. Those are specialty jobs.”
Koo, who went to the Pro Bowl last season, has made all 10 of his field-goal attempts and all 13 of his extra-point attempts this season.
“Fortunately, Younghoe’s here, and he’s the guy that’s improved,” Smith said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in him. You look up there, I had all the confidence in the word, just like I did in New York, that he was going to smoke that thing in there, and he did.”
In addition to making his kicks, Koo has been steady on his kickoffs. He’s had 12 kickoffs and has booted eight for touchbacks (66.7%). Also, he was pressed into punting duties when Cameron Nizialek suffered a hamstring injury against the Washington Football Team.
He had two punts for 70 yards, including a 45-yarder with the Falcons’ clinging to a 30-28 lead with under two minutes to play.
With the game on the line, Smith knows that Koo is clutch.
“It’s huge to have the head coach have my back like that,” Koo said. “It means a lot. It shows that the work that we put in out here is another day at the office. First of all believe in yourself, but also you believe in your teammates and your coach having your back, means the world.”
Koo tries to stick to his routine before all of his kicks.
“I know what tempo I want to be at when I’m kicking the field goal,” Koo said. “Let’s say I’m at a high school in the offseason kicking off the sticks by myself and I’m having a great day kicking. Then, I have to do the same thing game day.”
There’s a lot to prepare to make those big kicks.
“My tempo, what am I looking at and what are my swing thoughts,” Koo said. “But if I do those things, the external pressure doesn’t really matter.”
Against the Giants, Josh Harris was the long snapper and Nizialek was the holder. Against the Dolphins, new punter Dustin Colquitt was the holder.
“I can’t say this enough, how much Josh means to me,” Koo said. “That guy, without him, I would not be the kicker that I am. He (takes) a lot of pressure off me. I can trust him that he’s going to do his job and put the ball (on the) money, laces out.”
Colquitt, who’s in his 17 season in the NFL, also has a calming nature that helps Koo.
“Dustin has been doing it forever,” Koo said. “I have all the trust in the world with those guys. They are going to get it down. They’ve been doing it 10 years and Dustin 16, 17 years. All I have to do is do my part.”
Koo checks in with his operations crew before he takes the field.
“Going out there, me looking at Josh’s eyes and Dustin’s eyes, I know they are going to get their job done,” Koo said. “So, I’m like all right, I have to do my job. That’s trust and accountability. We are just going to go out there, all right let’s make this kick, win and go home.”
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