Meet Joey Julius, a place kicker for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Julius is making the rounds this college football Saturday in large part because he’s unlike your average college kicker. You see, the freshman stands at 5-10, 259 pounds, making him the largest kicker since Sebastian Janikowski (actually I have no idea if that’s true).
Penn State’s student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, ran an article on Julius last month. His nickname (and no we’re not kidding here) is “Big Toe.”
“I don’t attribute my size to anything,” Julius said. “I don’t know if it helps or hurts, it hasn’t really affected me yet.”
Although Julius works to prove his athleticism on the field, the redshirt freshman’s size has weaseled into one facet of his everyday life in the locker room.
“I’ve heard of the whole ‘Big Toe’ thing going on, that’s something that our team has definitely latched on to,” Julius said while sporting a handlebar mustache. “Nobody even calls me by my real name anymore. It’s just Big Toe.”
Thus far, Julius is responsible for four points – a field goal and an extra point through one quarter. Expect big things from Big Toe this season.
