Penn State kicker Joey Julius no longer with team

Joey Julius will not play for Penn State in 2017.

A school spokesperson confirmed to PennLive.com that Julius, Penn State’s kickoff specialist who made highlight reels across the sport for delivering big hits on kickoffs, is not with the team. Julius, a redshirt junior, revealed in May that he had returned to treatment for an eating disorder. Julius disclosed last October that he was treated a previous time for binge eating disorder.

Monday night, Julius said he is no longer in treatment.

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In a May Facebook post, Julius explained why he missed PSU’s spring game.

“I have been struggling over the last couple months with my eating disorder. It got to the point where I had to return to St. Louis to seek further treatment at McCallum Place,”Julius wrote May 5. “Recovery is a wonderful and beautiful thing that I am working on returning too. For anyone out there that has similar struggles I hope you too can seek help in some way. Your feelings should be completely validated and I wish you all the best in your search for recovery. Just as an update I am doing well and the treatment is helping. There is light at the end of the tunnel. It is just a very long tunnel.”

Julius, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 258 pounds on PSU’s roster, made 10-of-12 field goal attempts in 2015 but did not practice with the team the following spring. He returned for the start of the 2016 season and served as PSU’s kickoff specialist while Tyler Davis emerged as one of the Big Ten’s best field goal kickers. Julius caught the attention of the country by drilling ballcarriers with big hits against Kent State and Michigan.

After all of that attention, some of which surrounded him playing at a weight that is higher than the average kicker, Julius opened up about his eating disorder, saying it led to anxiety and depression in addition to his weight gain. First, he addressed it in a message posted on Facebook. He later spoke at length about it in a segment for Good Morning America.

On the field, Julius teamed with Davis to make up a very solid kicking duo. While Davis connected on 22-of-24 field goals, Julius averaged 62.1 yards per kickoff and registered 45 touchbacks. Julius has a much stronger leg than Davis, so Penn State may be forced to address the position with another player on its roster in 2017.

For more Penn State news, visit BlueWhiteIllustrated.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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