Hull flashes ability at NFL combine
Associated Press Penn State linebacker Mike Hull goes through a defensive pass catching drill at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Penn State linebacker and former Canon-McMillan standout Mike Hull runs a drill at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis Feb. 22.
INDIANAPOLIS – Like many college seniors, Canon-McMillan High School graduate Mike Hull is thinking about life beyond his scholastic endeavors.
His football career at Penn State now complete, Hull spent last weekend participating in perhaps one of the most exclusive and unique job interviews in the country.
Hull was one of the just more than 300 former college players invited to take part in the NFL Scouting Combine, which wrapped up at Lucas Oil Stadium last Monday, as he was poked, prodded and questioned by a number of prospective employers. He was the first player from Washington or Greene counties to be invited to the combine since Washington’s Dan Mozes in 2007.
Now, the even more difficult portion of the process begins; the two-month period between the combine and when the NFL holds its three-day draft, which begins April 30.
Hull is intent on being the first Washington-Greene player to be selected in the draft since Ringgold’s Anthony Peterson (Notre Dame) was taken in the fifth round by San Francisco in 1994. Hull’s father, Tom, who played at Penn State from 1971-1973 and was a 12th-round draft pick of San Francisco in 1974, played two seasons in the NFL, one each for the 49ers and Packers.
“All I need is a chance,” said Hull, who won the Butkus-Fitzgerald Award as the Big Ten’s top linebacker in 2014. “I know I can play in the NFL. All I want is a shot.”
Hull measured in at just a shade under 6-0 and 237 pounds – up five pounds from his playing weight at Penn State – at the combine. He’s still a little under the ideal size many teams look for in middle or inside linebackers, but his instincts and ability to read an offense might set him apart from other inside linebackers available in this year’s draft.
Those abilities were on constant display at Canon-McMillan and were honed at Penn State, which has a long history of producing solid NFL linebackers.
“Hull is just a smart, tough, impressive Penn State linebacker, and I mean that very complimentary,” said NFL Network Mike Mayock. “He gets the game of football. He’s productive. He’ll make a living initially on special teams, and then he’ll show coaches how smart he is and start to compete for starting jobs.”
Hull, who is viewed by most draft analysts as a mid-to-late round draft pick, certainly drew plenty of attention at the combine, meeting with 20 to 25 teams, including the Steelers. He met with new Steelers inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky, himself a former undersized inside linebacker who carved out a long NFL career.
“A lot of the teams that I talked to said they liked my ability to make the defensive calls and my ability at diagnosing plays,” said Hull, who finished his senior season at Penn State with a team-leading 140 tackles, including 10.5 for a loss, two sacks and an interception.
The NFL combine isn’t the free-for-all that it once was – fist fights and arguments between teams vying to meet with prospects were once common – now that the NFL Network has begun broadcasting the annual event.
But it’s still one of the more interesting job interviews someone can take.
Prospects arrive for the event in position groupings. Hull and the rest of the linebacker prospects arrived Thursday evening and checked in. On Friday, the linebackers underwent medical evaluations and meetings with teams. In between, they were turned loose to do interviews with the more than 1,000 media members at the event.
On Saturday, more individual team meetings were held and each prospects’ measurements were taken. Height, weight and hand and arm length were checked. Then, the prospects headed to the weight room, where they were tested on how many times they could bench press 225 pounds.
Hull showed off his power on the bench, putting up 31 reps, the best of any inside linebacker at the combine and second among all linebackers only to Clemson’s Vic Beasley, who is considered a first-round prospect.
“I knew I’d do well on the bench,” said Hull, who trained for the event for over a month at the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., with a number of other prospects. “I wanted to do 30-plus and I did that.”
The interviews are perhaps the most important part of the process for many teams. But it’s the on-field workouts in which Hull took part in with the rest of the linebackers last Sunday that many fans watch. The NFL Network’s coverage of the on-field workouts has been its highest-rated broadcast for years.
Hull, who was recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus suffered in the week before Penn State’s Dec. 27 victory over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, still wasn’t at 100 percent.
The surgery forced him to reluctantly pull out of the Senior Bowl after one day of practice. And he felt it still hindered him somewhat at the combine workouts, though he still looked fluid and at ease dropping into coverage and catching the ball.
“I thought my shuttle times were good, but I was disappointed with my 40 time,” Hull said. “I’m usually in the low 4.6s and high 4.5s in training. I think I’ll do better in that in my on-campus workout.”
That will take place at Penn State March 19.
Despite his disappointment, Hull ranked among the best at his position with an official time of 4.68 in the 40. Beasley again was the standard for all linebackers, timing at 4.53 seconds at 6-3, 247 pounds.
But among inside linebackers, Hull’s 40 time ranked sixth.
In the pure agility drills, three-cone, 60-yard shuttle and 20-yard shuttle, Hull was a top performer.
His three-cone time of 6.99 seconds ranked fifth among all linebackers and second among inside linebackers. In the 20-yard shuttle, he was fourth and third, respectively, at 4.15 seconds, while his 60-yard shuttle time of 11.52 was third and second.
Hull will likely pass on those drills at his Penn State workout, standing on those times. After that final workout, the waiting game will begin anew.
But Hull is nothing if not patient.
“I think Penn State really prepared me for what I’ve got to do,” Hull said. “I had to work my way up from the bottom there. Everything I got, I earned. I didn’t play much until my junior year. I’m willing to pay my dues and start over at the bottom.”