Canonsburg’s Hull has a ball in first NFL start
If Mike Hull was nervous about making his first NFL start Sunday for the Miami Dolphins, it didn’t show in his play.
The Canon-McMillan High School graduate filled in for injured starting middle linebacker Kiko Alonso in Miami’s 26-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals and made a big impact in the game.
Hull, a first-year player who made Miami’s roster as an undrafted free agent in 2015, matched the team lead with eight tackles and also recorded an interception.
The interception came off a deflection on a first-quarter pass intended for Larry Fitzgerald and Hull snatched it out of the air and returned it eight yards to midfield to set up the Dolphins’ first touchdown.
“It was pretty surreal,” Hull said of his interception. “It was awesome getting the start and being able to fill in for Kiko. And then first series getting an interception was pretty cool also.
“I needed to catch my breath after that one for sure.”
Hull played all 70 defensive snaps for the Dolphins, who also were without starting outside linebacker Jelani Jenkins. He was part of a group that helped limit the Cardinals to 105 yards passing.
It marked the most extensive playing time in the former Penn State star’s young career. He played 26 snaps two weeks ago in a loss at Baltimore after Alonso was injured, recording four tackles.
He also has appeared in two-thirds of the Miami’s special teams plays this season, helping to ease some possible butterflies.
“I don’t think I was nervous at all,” Hull said. “Obviously, there were some things that needed to be cleaned up, especially down the stretch.
“But we’ll get them cleaned up and just were very fortunate that we were able to pull out the game with the win.”
Alonso, who is dealing with hamstring and thumb injuries, hopes to return to action Saturday when Miami (8-5) visits the New York Jets. But the short week of preparation might make that difficult.
If Alonso can’t play, Miami head coach Adam Gase has no problem turning to Hull again.
“Guys stepped up again and found a way to do the job they needed to do to get us a chance at the end,” Gase said. “We talk about it all the time.”