Justin Yoon (born October 7, 1995) is an American football kicker who is currently a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

High school

Born in Ohio, Yoon, who grew up playing ice hockey while living in Nashville, Tennessee, played both ice hockey and football while attending Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts. He attended Harding Academy and Montgomery Bell Academy while living in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. Despite starting football in eighth grade while at Harding Academy, Yoon was 9–11 on field goals, 38–39 on point after attempts and had 37 touchbacks in 53 kickoff attempts during his junior season at Milton. As a result, he was named PrepStar All-East Region for Massachusetts. Yoon then missed much of his senior season due to injury, but was still invited to and played in the Under Armour All-America Game where he kicked three field goals of 31, 32 and 47 yards, and hit all five PAT attempts. His 47-yard field goal was the longest in the Under Armour All-America Game's history. On February 4, 2015, National Signing Day, Yoon signed to play

at Notre Dame.

College career

As starting kicker

Kyle Brindza Kyle Brindza (born January 13, 1993) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at Notre Dame. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions in 2015 and was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he p ...

had graduated and left for the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

the previous spring, Yoon immediately became the starting kicker for the Fighting Irish. Sophomore Tyler Newsome handled the punting and kickoff duties while Yoon handled field goals and point after attempts. After beginning the season 3–5 on FG attempts, Yoon ended the season a perfect 12–12 on field goals. He quickly became affectionately known by the moniker “YOOOON” that Notre Dame fans cheered during his kicks. By the end of the regular season, Yoon was 46–48 on PATs and 15–17 on FGs, including a 52-yarder in a win over Navy. Ranking as high as fourth in the College Football Playoff rankings, the 10–2 Fighting Irish finished the season eighth in the CFP rankings and earned a spot in the New Year's Six Fiesta Bowl. For his efforts, Yoon was named an ESPN Freshman All-American at the end of the season. In 2018, during a 45–23 win over Virginia Tech, Yoon became Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer with 367 career points.

Professional career

After being undrafted in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, Yoon tried out for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

at their rookie mini-camp in early May, but was not signed.

Personal

Yoon is of Korean descent. His father, Jiseop, was an Olympic figure skater. His mother, Mihwa, owns and manages a pharmacy.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoon, Justin 1995 births American people of South Korean descent American football placekickers Living people Players of American football from Ohio Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players South Korean players of American football Milton Academy alumni