ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.
Listen "Younghoe Koo Finds Redemption with the Giants"
Episode Synopsis
After an abrupt release from the Falcons early this season, veteran kicker Younghoe Koo delivered a perfect performance in his debut with the New York Giants.
After a tumultuous start to his 8th season veteran kicker Younghoe Koo has gained a starting role with a new team, the New York Giants. Koo’s debut with the Giants was a welcome sight going 2-for-2 on both field goals and extra points after stepping in for the injured Graham Gano.
Coming off a disappointing 2024 season with a career-worst 74% success rate, Koo faced significant pressure this year, including a preseason kicking competition with the Falcons. He won the job, but his time in Atlanta ended after going 2-for-3 on field goals – including a late-game miss in Week 1’s 3-point loss to the Buccaneers.
Just four days later Koo was signed to the Giants’ practice squad.
His recent struggles contrasts with the solid 86% career success rate earned through 183 career field goals. In 2020, Koo’s best season, he led the league with 144 points on 37 field goals. That 95% consistency was good enough to earn him Pro Bowl honors.
This isn’t the first time Koo’s career hit a rocky patch. As a Groza Award finalist at Georgia Southern, Koo went undrafted in 2017 before signing with the Chargers only to be cut 4 weeks into the season.
Unable to play in the NFL Koo joined the upstart league Alliance of American Football with the Atlanta Legends in 2019. He managed a perfect 14 for 14 with the team before AAF declared bankruptcy midseason. But Koo parlayed his AAF success into a practice squad position with the Patriots before being released, only to be acquired by the Falcons in October.
While at Georgia Southern Koo made a school record 88.6% of his field goals and went 19 of 20 his senior season. In his junior year he went viral by hitting a trick shot, complete with backflip.
Koo was born in Seoul and played soccer as a kid. He moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey at 12 to live with his mother, a nurse, while his father stayed in Korea to continue his professorship. At Ridgewood High Koo was more than a kicker — he tallied 4 interceptions to earn MVP honors his senior year.
Sunday will mark his first home game with the Giants at MetLife Stadium, just 13 miles from where he grew up.
After a tumultuous start to his 8th season veteran kicker Younghoe Koo has gained a starting role with a new team, the New York Giants. Koo’s debut with the Giants was a welcome sight going 2-for-2 on both field goals and extra points after stepping in for the injured Graham Gano.
Coming off a disappointing 2024 season with a career-worst 74% success rate, Koo faced significant pressure this year, including a preseason kicking competition with the Falcons. He won the job, but his time in Atlanta ended after going 2-for-3 on field goals – including a late-game miss in Week 1’s 3-point loss to the Buccaneers.
Just four days later Koo was signed to the Giants’ practice squad.
His recent struggles contrasts with the solid 86% career success rate earned through 183 career field goals. In 2020, Koo’s best season, he led the league with 144 points on 37 field goals. That 95% consistency was good enough to earn him Pro Bowl honors.
This isn’t the first time Koo’s career hit a rocky patch. As a Groza Award finalist at Georgia Southern, Koo went undrafted in 2017 before signing with the Chargers only to be cut 4 weeks into the season.
Unable to play in the NFL Koo joined the upstart league Alliance of American Football with the Atlanta Legends in 2019. He managed a perfect 14 for 14 with the team before AAF declared bankruptcy midseason. But Koo parlayed his AAF success into a practice squad position with the Patriots before being released, only to be acquired by the Falcons in October.
While at Georgia Southern Koo made a school record 88.6% of his field goals and went 19 of 20 his senior season. In his junior year he went viral by hitting a trick shot, complete with backflip.
Koo was born in Seoul and played soccer as a kid. He moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey at 12 to live with his mother, a nurse, while his father stayed in Korea to continue his professorship. At Ridgewood High Koo was more than a kicker — he tallied 4 interceptions to earn MVP honors his senior year.
Sunday will mark his first home game with the Giants at MetLife Stadium, just 13 miles from where he grew up.
More episodes of the podcast Voxcali
Vietnamese Coffee Explained
14/11/2025
Inside America’s Asian Fraternities
12/11/2025
Hitman Bang Made a Billion Dollar Empire
11/11/2025
3 Asian Winter Wonderlands
08/11/2025
In God we trust