CHICAGO -- He was a hit with Penn State fans and his public battle with a binge-eating disorder gave kicker Joey Julius a platform to share his story and inspire many.
However, Julius -- who was in St. Louis this spring to continue receiving treatment for his binge-eating disorder, something he made public last football season -- will not be on the roster this season, a Penn State spokesperson confirmed. PennLive's Bob Flounders first reported Julius' status change.
Last season, Julius was the team's kickoff specialist who also didn't shy away from getting his nose dirty and making tackles. While Julius was in St. Louis during spring practices, field goal kicker Tyler Davis said he'd continue working to make sure he'd be able to do both field goals and kickoffs this season. Davis handled kickoffs in the Rose Bowl.
Julius did not return a message seeking comment Monday afternoon.
While Julius was a former soccer player turned walk-on kicker, the Lions' specialist picture is a lot more interesting now than it was two weeks ago. Davis, who said he was awarded a scholarship after the Rose Bowl, though it's unclear if the scholarship was just for the spring semester, is joined by scholarship punter Blake Gillikin. Kicker Alex Barbir, a redshirt freshman is also on scholarship.
High school kicker Jake Pinegar gave the Lions a verbal pledge during their commitment spree last week, an interesting move given the fact that Barbir was brought in last summer to be the kicker of the future. The specialist picture is something that'll certainly come up Tuesday afternoon when James Franklin meets with the media during the Big Ten's media days.
