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This afternoon, Virginia Tech's official football Twitter account tweeted a piece of information that is just the latest in the ongoing saga of Cody Journell, but will probably be the last as far as Virginia Tech football is concerned:
Frank Beamer announces that PK Cody Journell has been dismissed from the Virginia Tech football squad.
— VT Football (@VT_Football) November 13, 2013
That's right, Virginia Tech's redshirt-senior kicker, Cody Journell, who was twice suspended or removed from the team before for a legal issue in 2011 (for which he was later reinstated) and an undisclosed violation of team rules this season caused him to miss the Marshall game. That violation of team rules was never disclosed, nor was this one according to the media:
#Hokies give the nebulous "violation of team policies" reason for Journell's dismissal. No further comment at this time.
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) November 13, 2013
All #Hokies are saying is that Journell committed a "violation of team policies." No further comment from Beamer.
— Hokies Journal (@HokiesJournal) November 13, 2013
The decision brings an end to the turbulent and embattled kicker's time at Virginia Tech, which will be remembered more for his misdeeds than his performance on the field. He was among the first-ever kickers to be awarded a scholarship from Frank Beamer coming in as a freshman, as he was regarded as one of the top high school kickers in the nation.
For his career, Journell was 44-58 (or 76 percent) on field goal attempts and 101-106 (95 percent) on point after attempts. His career-long, a 56-yarder against Boston College, was set this year. Journell ended up winning the ACC Specialist of the Week that week, his second such honor this season.
During the game he was suspended against Marshall, Ethan Keyserling handled the kicking duties, missing all three of his field goal attempts, but making all three of his point after attempts. No word yet on whether he'll be the guy going forward.
As always, we will keep you up to date with all the goings on in the Virginia Tech football program as well as all Virginia Tech sports, here on Gobbler Country.