“Kickers aren’t football players,” according to former Ravens head coach Brian Billick.

Apparently, Billick hasn’t met Penn State kicker Joey Julius, who is as tough as they come. The kicker revels in every facet of the game, including tackling.

He can deliver a hit with the best of them, just ask Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis or Kent State’s Kavious Price.

His toughness cannot be questioned.  

Even Penn State’s head coach James Franklin took notice.

“I'm also impressed that he's built a reputation that you better deal with our kicker or he's going to get down there and make tackles," Franklin told ESPN.

Even opposing coaches have taken notice.

The Wolverines special teams coach Jay Harbaugh told ESPN, "Credit to him -- he's a big, stout cover guy you really have to account for, which is unfortunate. You usually like to be able to ignore the kickers."

Julius has displayed toughness on the gridiron throughout this season. However, his toughness off the field is gaining national attention.

Earlier this year, Julius was noticeably absent from Penn State’s practice facility for numerous months. Franklin denied repeated attempts to reveal the nature of the absence while citing player privacy.

Early on Monday morning, Julius took to Facebook to explain his absence:

In the months leading up to spring practice, Julius gained a great deal of weight in a short amount of time. He suspected it may be related to recent bouts of anxiety and depression that he endured. The team physicians also noticed a difference in the kicker’s personality, physical well-being and performance.

Instead of ignoring the problem, as many of us may do, the kicker faced his demons and sought help from professionals. He checked himself into McCallum Place Eating Disorder Center in Missouri, a medical facility that specializes in treating eating disorders, where he stayed for three months.

Throughout his stay at McCallum, Julius learned about himself and came to understand binge eating disorder [BED], which is the diagnosis he received from doctors.

Binge eating disorder may sound like a punchline from a joke. We all have put away a pint of ice cream or had a couple extra slices of pizza after a long day. This is considered normal, albeit unhealthy, behavior.

Accordingly, not many people understand BED, even though it is fairly prevalent within our society.

The Mayo Clinic states that individual with BED will frequently gorge themselves on food to the point of discomfort, while feeling out-of-control and helpless to stop eating. Sufferers will often vow to discontinue their unhealthy behavior as a result of embarrassment, but instead find themselves unable to control the compulsion to continue binge eating.

The statistics indicate that this may be more widespread than many would believe. Especially when considering one in three American adults are considered obese according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Medical professionals believe that many obese individuals are undiagnosed BED sufferers.

More specifically, approximately two percent of American adults (about four million people) suffer from BED. The effects of this disorder can be wide-ranging and quickly morph into deadly ramifications if left untreated.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the health consequences of drastic weight gain include: 

• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Gallbladder disease
• Heart disease
• Certain types of cancer

There are also mental health conditions that an obese individual may encounter if suffering from BED:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Personality disorders

Social media is often the last place someone goes to reveal deeply-seeded imperfections. Pleas for help on social media are often met with an overwhelmingly negative response or worse, scorn. As such, not many people take to social media to share personal issues.

However, this did not dissuade Julius from taking to Facebook.

Julius opened up and knowingly put himself in a vulnerable position with the hope of spreading awareness and helping others.

Thankfully, Julius had a strong support system in place at Penn State.

“In order to come to this conclusion, I have no one to thank except for Coach James Franklin and my training staff and doctors that stuck with me throughout this whole process,” the kicker stated in his Facebook post.

Julius concluded his post by stating, “If anyone - and I mean anyone guy or girl - is struggling with the same or anything similar, please message me as I will be in immediate contact to help in any way I can to provide information or insight on my struggles and I would love to help.”

Talk about strength. This guy has it in spades.

If someone you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder, you can get help. Please contact the National Eating Disorders Association [NEDA] or Joey Julius via Facebook.

 

Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics Department