BY LOU SOMOGYI
I
t didn't take long for freshman
kicker Justin Yoon to get settled
in at Notre Dame.
It's not like he had a choice.
Declared the starter on National
Signing Day to replace graduated
three-year starter Kyle Brindza, the
nation's No. 1 kicking prospect in
2015 is believed to be the first Notre
Dame football player of South Ko-
rean descent, although he was born
in Ohio and competed at Milton
(Mass.) Academy.
His "leg work" began by play-
ing soccer and hockey — his father,
Jiseop, is a former Olympic figure
skater — before he was introduced to
kicking a football in the eighth grade.
A hitch in his motion and follow
through that resulted in missed extra
points against Virginia and Georgia
Tech in back-to-back weeks tempo-
rarily took some of shine off his skills,
but it didn't take long to regain it.
During the 5-1 start, Yoon made
7 of 9 field goals attempts — includ-
ing a 46-yard boot in a quagmire at
Clemson that kept Notre Dame's
hopes alive in 24-22 loss Oct. 3, and
then a 52-yard kick as time expired
to give the Irish a 24-21 halftime lead
the next week in their eventual 41-24
KICK-START
Freshman Justin Yoon is
adapting quickly to a major role
Yoon converted 24 of 26 extra point tries and 7 of 9
field goal attempts, including 46- and 52-yarders, in
the first six games of his Irish career.
PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA
