No freshman will be tossed into the deep end quicker than kicker Justin Yoon. Essentially Notre Dame’s sole option to kick field goals in 2015, Brian Kelly and the Irish coaching staff are putting a ton of the shoulders of a true freshman, who’ll be asked to fix a three-point operation that went haywire down the stretch after the Irish’s all-time field goal leader Kyle Brindza lost his mojo.
The good news? Early reports on Yoon are excellent. He’s got a consistent stroke with stress-free mechanics and has been remarkably accurate through all of fall camp. The bad news? None of that matters until Yoon trots onto the field against Texas and attempts a kick that counts for real.
Let’s take a look at the Irish freshman who holds the Irish’s special teams’ fate in his hands.
JUSTIN YOON
5'9.5", 185 lbs.
Freshman, No. 19, K
RECRUITING PROFILE
Yoon was an Under Armour All-American, the No. 1 kicker in the country, per 247 Sports and Kohl’s Kicking Camp.
In addition to the Notre Dame offer, Yoon had scholarship options from Texas A&M, Northwestern and Boston College.
FUTURE POTENTIAL
Seeing Yoon kick (briefly) in person, I saw some of what Brian Kelly was talking about when he raved about Yoon’s leg strength and operation early in training camp. He made a 46-yarder that would’ve been good from the mid-50s and was consistently making everything we saw him attempt last Tuesday.
Of course, I’m not a kicking expert (I just play one on the internet), so any praise of a freshman specialist needs to be backed up on the field. But it’s clear that the Irish staff believes they landed a stud in Yoon, and if he’s capable of making the ordinary kicks (from 40-yards and in), this offense will be just fine.
Any time you’re projecting a guy to be a four-year starter, you’ve got to like his upside. That’s what Kelly and the Irish staff think they have in Yoon, who’ll spend the next four seasons connected with Tyler Newsome as the Irish’s post-Brindza specialists.
CRYSTAL BALL
I’d love to reserve the right to pen this after the Texas game, but if Yoon gets off to a quick start against the Longhorns, I think he’ll ride that momentum to a solid first season. If nerves get to him early? It’s going to be a rocky road.
A few datapoints to suggest that the moment won’t be too big for Yoon: First, his ability to thrive under pressure at the Under Armour game. Secondly, his low-maintenance mechanics. When I watched him kick, I thought of a low-handicap, senior golfer. He has a simple swing that finds a lot of fairways. Lastly, I like that Yoon’s an athlete, not just a kicker. He was a high school hockey player, a sport that points to a variety of skills, so he’s not just some drone specialist with no versatility.
All in all, there’s no getting around the gamble the Irish are placing on Yoon. But you’d be hard pressed to find a better young prospect to put your hopes on.
THE 2015 IRISH A-to-Z
Josh Adams, RB
Josh Barajas, OLB
Nicky Baratti, S
Alex Bars, OL
Asmar Bilal, OLB
Hunter Bivin, OL
Grant Blankenship, DE
Jonathan Bonner, DE
Miles Boykin, WR
Justin Brent, WR
Greg Bryant, RB
Devin Butler, CB
Jimmy Byrne, OL
Daniel Cage, DL
Amir Carlisle, RB
Nick Coleman, DB
Te’von Coney, LB
Shaun Crawford, DB
Scott Daly, LS
Sheldon Day, DL
Michael Deeb, LB
Micah Dew-Treadway, DL
Steve Elmer, RG
Matthias Farley, DB
Nicco Fertitta, DB
Tarean Folston, RB
Will Fuller, WR
Jarrett Grace, LB
Jalen Guyton, WR
Mark Harrell, OL
Jay Hayes, DL
Mike Heuerman, TE
Kolin Hill, DE
Tristen Hoge, C
Corey Holmes, WR
Chase Hounshell, TE
Torii Hunter, Jr. WR
Alizé Jones, TE
Jarron Jones, DL
DeShone Kizer, QB
Tyler Luatua, TE
Cole Luke, CB
Nick Martin, C
Greer Martini, LB
Jacob Matuska, DL
Mike McGlinchey, OT
Colin McGovern, OL
Peter Mokwuah, DL
John Montelus, OL
Nyles Morgan, LB
Sam Mustipher, OL
Quenton Nelson, OL
Tyler Newsome, P
Romeo Okwara, DE
James Onwualu, LB
C.J. Prosise, WR/RB
Doug Randolph, LB/DE
Max Redfield, S
Corey Robinson, WR
Trevor Ruhland, OL
CJ Sanders, WR
Joe Schmidt, LB
Avery Sebastian, S
Elijah Shumate, S
Jaylon Smith, LB
Durham Smythe, TE
Equanimeous St. Brown, WR
Ronnie Stanley, LT
Elijah Taylor, DL
Brandon Tiassum, DL
Jerry Tillery, DL
Drue Tranquill, S
Andrew Trumbetti, DE
John Turner, S
Nick Watkins, CB
Nic Weishar, TE
Ashton White, CB
Dexter Williams, RB
Brandon Wimbush, QB
