Last season, Penn State University kicker Joey Julius made headlines. Julius was a junior at the time playing in his second season for PSU, but he didn’t make headlines for how well he kicked off for the Nittany Lions.
Instead, PSU’s kickoff specialist made headlines because he just brutalized opponents with ridiculous tackles during kickoff returns. Just take a look at some of these hits:
My goodness are we sure he doesn’t switch numbers and also star as a middle linebacker?
Sadly, we won’t get to see any big hits from the 5-foot-10 258-pound kickoff specialist in the near future. Leading into his senior year academically (third year playing as he redshirted as a freshman), Julius has left the program.
According to Bob Flounders of PennLive.com, Julius has left the team and Penn State has confirmed the move as well.
Joey Julius is no longer with the Penn State football team. Julius, a Lower Dauphin grad, was the Lions' 2016 kickoff specialist.
— Bob Flounders (@BobbyFlo7) July 24, 2017
Recently Julius has been open about dealing with anxiety, depression, and an eating disorder. In fact, the kicker has been so open about it, he’s gone on Good Morning America to discuss how he’s dealt with it.
You can read what we’ve written in the past both about Julius’ battle with depression and his fantastic career at Penn State.
Back in May, Julius left the team temporarily to get treatment for his eating disorder. Then just last week, the kicker tweeted about his battle with depression.
https://twitter.com/joey_julius/status/888242992221487104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbssports.com%2Fcollege-football%2Fnews%2Fpenn-state-kicker-joey-julius-no-longer-with-the-program%2F
As of now there is no timetable or information out there about if Julius may return to Penn State in the future, but for now, let’s hope Julius gets the helps he needs and can beat what he is dealing with.
