Penn State kicker Joey Julius has returned to treatment for eating disorder
Penn State kicker Joey Julius revealed that he has returned to treatment for an eating disorder.
Before Julius was all over college football highlight reels last season for delivering big hits on kickoffs, he was treated for binge-eating disorder during the offseason. In a Facebook post on Friday, Julius, who did not play in Penn State’s spring game, explained that he is back in treatment in Missouri.
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“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 the McCallum place,” Julius wrote. “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 connected on 10-of-12 field goal attempts in 2015, but was noticeably absent for spring practice last year. Last October he decided to open up publicly about his eating disorder, saying it led to depression and anxiety in addition to his weight gain. Julius’ openness gained much attention and he appeared on “Good Morning America” to explain why he decided to go public with something that is so personal.
Julius returned for the start of the season and served as Penn State’s kickoff specialist while Tyler Davis emerged as the team’s kicker on field goals. Julius made a name for himself by delivering big hits on kickoffs against Kent State and Michigan.
He was also the victim of cheap shots against Minnesota and Maryland, leading to ejections.
Julius, who is set to be a redshirt junior for the Nittany Lions in 2017, said in his Facebook post that he plans to start a blog to document his experiences.
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!
