FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Benches Clear As Penn State Bruiser-Kicker Joey Julius Suffers a Cheap Shot

It's time to feel bad for the kicker all over again.

You know how you always feel bad for the kickers? The tiny guy who specializes in the non-contact work and always gets stuck in the middle of the fray? Well Penn State's 258-pound kicker Joey Julius—known for his ability to truck fools after making a punt—wasn't that guy… until now.

Julius had made some headline hits on people this year—namely on a punt return against Michigan last week—and was getting a reputation for being a bruiser. And apparently, today, the Minnesota Golden Gophers wanted to snuff that reputation out best they could—by taking some cheap shots at him repeatedly. This last one (above), however, crossed the line. (See 1,000 yellow flags upon contact—oh, and the fact that the ball was already in the end zone, below.)

Advertisement

Cheap shot on Joey Julius pic.twitter.com/o6EKQX0Mbi
— John McGonigal (@jmcgonigal9) October 1, 2016

Penn State saw the hit—taken by Minnesota's Jalen Waters on a punt return late in the third quarter—and jumped off their benches to exact some revenge on Julius' brutalizer. Nittany Lions coach James Franklin even got in there to prevent his players from tussling. Take a look:

Here are a couple of other moments that Julius was getting shaken off in a couple of scenarios that were a little more than unintentional:

Once the hunter. Now the hunted. pic.twitter.com/V3cHBhg2Ci
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 1, 2016

When you're tired of getting hit by the kicker. pic.twitter.com/fkp4uv7Spi
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 1, 2016

It's time to feel bad for the kicker all over again.