Blue White Illustrated

Reality check Linebacker Mike Hull strives to return to form after knee injury NAT E   BAU E R | NBAUER@BLUEWHITEONLINE.COM Mike Hull had already taken a barrage of questions from reporters following Penn State's 44-24 loss to Indiana on Saturday afternoon, but he was in no hurry to walk back to the team bus. So Hull took one more question – one that that the junior outside linebacker likely had already answered half a dozen times since the final whistle. "How's the knee?" one reporter asked. "Feeling a lot better than it was against UCF," Hull replied, cracking the smile of a young man who prides himself on toughness. "I'm still feeling it a little bit, but it's a lot better and I felt a lot more like myself today." The reality is, Hull hasn't felt like himself since he hobbled off the MetLife Stadium turf late in the first quarter against Syracuse in the season opener. Coming off a redshirt sophomore cam- paign in which he played in all 12 games as a backup, but racked up 58 tackles, five of which went for a loss, four sacks, four pass breakups, five passes defended, an interception and two fumble recoveries, Hull's expectations for 2013 were heightened by the knowledge that he was set to become a full-time starter. He wanted to cement his place as one of the Nittany Lions' primary defensive playmakers, which made this recent setback even more frustrating. "I was really anticipating this season and was having a good year and starting off on the right foot, and that was taken away from me early in the first game," Hull said. "So I just had to really focus on my mental game. Now that I'm back on the field, I've just gotta get ready and make all the plays that I can for our team. " It was tough to see a teammate and O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 16 close friend struggle with the injury, but middle linebacker Glenn Carson said it's good to have Hull back, even if his true statistical impact has yet to be realized. Although Hull has only 15 tackles and 0.5 sacks, Carson said it's still better than relegating him to the sideline. "Mike Hull is a competitor, and he's a tough guy and he loves to play the game, " Carson added. "Obviously, for any competitor to be sidelined and be in street clothes while his teammates are out there playing is a tough deal. We're lucky and happy to have Mike Hull back. He's definitely happy, and it obviously pained him to be sidelined like he was. " Bill O'Brien confirmed that Hull will be "ready for the game" on Saturday night against Michigan. Hull, who acknowledged that he's still not 100 percent, nearly 45 days after the initial injury, said he simply needs to continue to make small strides in recovery. "I'm probably 90, 95 percent, he said. " "Everyone is banged up at this point in the season, so I'm just going to have to get better and better every week. I'm sure I'll be more effective [vs. Michigan]. " BL UEW H I T EON L I N E. COM

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