Blue White Illustrated

there's reason to believe his results will live up to the nickname. There was the video that circulated after spring practice of Julius nailing a pressure kick, with James Franklin almost literally in his face, to give his teammates a break from prac- tice-ending sprints. And then there was the 55-yard bomb he hit before the start of the Blue-White Game. For a guy who doesn't look like a kicker, he looks like he might be a pretty good kicker. "He's a hard worker, and his confidence is through the roof," said Tyler Yazujian, the Nittany Lions' junior long snapper. "For a kicker, that's a great thing to have." In Julius's case, genetics, upbringing and experience all contribute to his unflap- pability. Start with his father, Larry, who played professional indoor soccer and taught Joey how to play the game. "I think my confidence probably just comes from my dad. He just instilled that in me growing up," Julius said. "He's never been mad at me if I failed, so I never really worried about failing. I always tried, and I don't worry about missing." Julius added that his years on the soccer field – where success rates are measured much differ- ently than they are for place-kickers – also influenced his mindset. "As a forward, scoring goals, you're gonna maybe take 20 shots and only make one," he said. "I think that really helped, too." Until his senior year of high school, it looked like Julius would put all of that soccer knowledge and experience to use in college soccer. As a junior, he com- mitted to SIU-Edwardsville, a school in the St. Louis area that plays soccer at the Division I level. But after his place- kicking helped Lower Dauphin win a dis- trict football title his senior year, Julius had a change of heart; he decided he wanted to play American football, at the highest level. When Franklin's staff of- fered the chance to be a preferred walk- on, the switch was official. Asked if he misses soccer, Julius said, "Nah. I'm in full football mode now." He seems to be making the most of it. As a redshirt last season, Julius was up close and taking notes as Ficken wrapped up one of the most unlikely careers in Penn State history. "He's been great," Julius said of Ficken. "He's probably one of the best dudes you could ever learn from, because he's been at the worst mo- ments of his career, and he's been at the height of it. Now he's trying to get in the NFL, and I get to go out and kick with him while he's trying to do that. It's good to be able to pick up on his work habits." If Julius can mimic Ficken's dedication to his craft, and ultimately his results, those might be the only things they have in common. Asked to compare the burly Julius to the slender, buttoned-down, businesslike Ficken, Yazujian said they're "pretty close to polar opposites, but in a good way." Julius entered preseason camp aiming to prove the "good" part, and knowing he hadn't wrapped up anything yet. The starting job was expected to come down to Julius and redshirt freshman Tyler Davis. Like Julius, Davis is a former soccer player. He played as a true freshman at Bradley in 2013, scoring the winning goal in his first college game. When he trans- ferred to Penn State, it was without having ever played a snap of high school foot- ball. "We're best friends," Julius said of Davis. "We're both competitors, and we've had conversations about this. We both agree that the best man wins, the best man plays. It's not about us. You know, we took the names off the backs of our jerseys, so that's just a testimony to what we believe in. It's about who's going to help the team." ■ K I C K O F F I S S U E Calling them "outstanding ambas- sadors for our program," coach James Franklin announced Aug. 10 that the Nittany Lions would have five cap- tains this coming season: junior quar- terback Christian Hackenberg, senior safety Jordan Lucas, senior center An- gelo Mangiro, junior linebacker Von Walker and senior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel. "They are leaders in the classroom, in the community, in the locker room and are important influencers for our team," Franklin said. Hackenberg is a captain for the sec- ond consecutive year, having served in the same capacity last season as a sophomore when the Nittany Lions had a school-record seven captains. He enters the season poised to become the top passer in Penn State history, having capped his sophomore season by breaking or tying nine PSU single- game bowl records against Boston Col- lege in the Pinstripe Bowl. He has started all 25 career games under center and enters the season ranked No. 3 in career passing yards (5,932), attempts (876) and completions (501), and is No. 4 in career total offense (5,770). An honorable mention All-Big Ten selection last season, Lucas is the leader of the secondary, having tied for third place on the team with 58 stops in 2014. Mangiro was the leader of a young offensive line corps in 2014, starting every game and making starts at three different positions. He made 10 starts at center, two at right tackle and one at left guard. Walker earned a scholarship in April after two seasons as a walk-on. He moved from running back to line- backer in the spring of 2014 and went on to appear in 12 games, making his first career start vs. Northwestern. He was also a major contributor on spe- cial teams, ranking third on the team with five special-teams tackles, in- cluding four on kickoff coverage. Zettel moved from defensive end to defensive tackle in 2014 and enjoyed his most productive season. A fourth- team All-America selection by Athlon Sports and an All-Big Ten first-team pick by both the coaches and media, Zettel logged career-best totals with 17 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three interceptions. Nittany Lions name five captains

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