Georgia Southern is fast becoming known as “Kicker U” as Youghoe Koo and Tyler Bass are among the top kickers in the league. Koo and Bass made a stop in Statesboro this week as they threw out the ceremonial first pitches at the Eagle baseball game Sunday, and then made an appearance at the basketball game Wednesday night.

The two players were teammates briefly with Koo graduating in 2016 and Bass being the Eagle starter from 2017-19. They have been able to maintain a close relationship in the NFL with Bass being able to learn from Koo’s experiences before him. “He is one of my best friends and helped pave the way for me,” said Bass. “He talked me through my progression in the NFL and was so helpful. He has been there with me every step of the way and it is great to see how well he is doing.” Even though the two players are on different teams separated by nearly 1,000 miles they make a point to stay in touch particularly during the season. “We talk at least once a week during the season,” said Koo. “In the off season we get together and play golf and do things like coming here. I always love coming back to Statesboro. It is always a great time to be able to see familiar faces.”

The Falcons recently made Koo the second highest paid kicker in the NFL. Last year Koo signed a five-year deal worth $24.25 million with $11.5 million guaranteed. Koo has a career percentage of over 90 percent and was named to the Pro-Bowl in 2020.

Despite his focus being on the NFL season, Koo still finds time to keep up with how Georgia Southern is doing and likes the direction he sees under head coach Clay Helton.

“I came here last year and you could tell the energy in the building was different,” Koo said. “I am a big fan of the direction things seem to be going. I keep up with how the team is doing during the season and it helps because there are a few other guys on the Falcons who come from Sun Belt schools so we tease each other a bit. We are trying to build a similar culture now with the Falcons and I am excited about the future and how we move forward.”

Bass tied for sixth place in the NFL in points scored

in 2023 and helped the Buffalo Bills to their third straight AFC East title. Bass connected on 87 percent of his kicks in 2022 with a long of 56-yards.

Bass also tries his best to keep up with what is happening at Georgia Southern and is hoping the bills can get a step closer to getting to the Super Bowl this year.

“I got a chance to meet Coach Helton and come down this past year,” Bass said. “They really have some great things going on and I am excited to see how they do this year. It has been awesome playing for Buffalo. The Bills Mafia are some great fans and we have some great players coming back. We have a great culture and I am excited about what we can do next year.”