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Wartman on the weak side – have a combined total of one career start to their credit. Still, the relative inexperience hasn't lowered Ron Vanderlinden's expectations. Penn State's longtime linebackers coach has high hopes for his starters this coming season. "I'm excited about it," he said. "I think the first three are going to be as good as what our expectations have been here at Penn State with good linebacker play." One of the reasons for Vanderlinden's optimism is that Hull is far from inexperienced, despite having made only one start in his career. He earned a field promotion last year when Mauti went down with an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament in the 11th game of Penn State's season. But while he inherited a high-profile role when he replaced Mauti in the season finale against Wisconsin, Hull was a steady presence throughout the year. His 58 total tackles were sixth-best on the team, and he had two big fumble recoveries, a touchdown return, an interception and four sacks. In compiling those numbers, he developed a reputation as one of the team's key defensive playmakers. And Wartman? He made an immediate impact as a true freshman last season, appearing in the Nittany Lions' first two games before suffering a season-ending knee injury on the opening kickoff at Virginia. He didn't fully recover until February and was granted a medical hardship waiver by the NCAA, meaning he'll get a second shot at having a big freshman season. Throw in Ben Kline, a redshirt sophomore who made 18 tackles while appearing in all 12 games last season, and Vanderlinden looks to have a fourman rotation that should be able to maintain a level of play consistent with 8 IS ENOUGH Last year, Wooten redshirted after arriving at Penn State during preseason camp. He goes into the 2013 season listed as the Lions' second-team inside linebacker. he transition from high school to major-college competition is a tough one for nearly all young athletes. Not only do they have to prove themselves all over again after enjoying success in high school, they also must cope with all the normal pressures that every student faces during that stressful first year on campus. Redshirt freshman linebacker Gary Wooten dealt with all of those pressures and more. When he came to Penn State from Hialeah, Fla., last summer, he basically knew nothing about the school, the town or even the state in which he was set to spend the next four or five years of his life. Wooten played his final season at Hialeah Senior High in the fall of 2010, Bill Anderson

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