Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/557480
2 0 1 5 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L T he strongest and most accurate leg at Penn State might well belong to Connor Maloney. A junior forward on the Nittany Lion soccer team, Maloney totaled 10 goals and three assists last fall to earn Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors. In July, he was invited to train with the U.S. Under-23 national team. But it's probably worth noting one of Mal- oney's old club soccer teammates, now also relocated to Happy Valley. Joey Julius traded a round ball for an oblong one, and he doesn't have Maloney's resume, but based on his reputation – and a few promising glimpses this past spring – he might soon have the most famous leg on campus. It doesn't hurt that he's already got the confidence to go with it. "We had a pretty dynamic duo going into our senior year," Julius said of his days playing alongside Maloney, "but I did score more goals, and you can tell him I said that." Self-assurance seems unlikely to be a problem for Julius, the redshirt freshman place-kicker who in early August appeared to be the favorite to replace Sam Ficken. A two-time All-State pick at Lower Dauphin (Pa.) High School, Julius has so far gotten more attention for his size – the Lions' preseason roster lists him at 5- foot-10, 261 pounds – than for his actual kicking. Dubbed "Big Toe" both for his size and his distance, Julius said, "Nobody even calls me by my name anymore." But thanks to those spring highlights, | KICKSTARTER PROJECT Joey Julius looks to reboot PSU's graduation-depleted kicking game QUICK STUDY Julius paid close attention to Sam Ficken last season, calling him "probably one of the best dudes you could ever hope to learn from." Photo by Steve Manuel