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ike Hull's troubles began within the :rst 10 plays of the 2013 season. The then-junior outside linebacker su;ered a knee injury in Penn State's opener against Syracuse – barely avoiding a torn anterior cruciate ligament – and was forced to sit out two of the team's next three games. He returned to the start- ing lineup in the Big Ten opener at Indiana, but it took him a while to regain his old form. By the end of the year, Hull was making plays all over the :eld, as evidenced by his team-high seven tackles in the Lions' season :nale at Wisconsin. He :nished with 61 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and half a sack, but it was in many ways a less-than-satisfying season, one in which he wasn't able to play to his full potential due to his health. Because of that, he's looking to make an even bigger impact as a senior. And by impact, he means an impact. Hull said his o;-season workouts have been about "just being more explosive, making more explosive plays and keeping good body position." The knee injury, he said, caused him to "lose a lot of explosive movements. So that's probably the main thing I've been working on, and mentally getting ready to take on the load of getting everyone set." A big part of Hull's workload this o;- season has involved his transition to middle linebacker following a junior season in which he started at outside linebacker alongside Glenn Carson and Nyeem Wart- man. Under the guidance of new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, Hull has taken over the starting spot that Carson occupied for the past three seasons. He isn't entirely unfamiliar with the position, having prac- ticed at inside linebacker during his soph- omore year, when Ted Roof was the team's defensive coordinator. But his return to the middle has required that he do more than just learn a new set of assignments. He also has had to change his personality. "Last year, I was a lead-by-example guy. That's kind of how I've been my whole career here – just working hard. But now I realize that I have to step up and talk and set everybody where they need to be and do what I've got to do to get the most out of everybody," Hull said. "That's probably the hardest transition to the middle, but I think that it's going really well. [During the last few weeks of spring practice] I think I really got the hang of being more vocal. "I played middle linebacker my sopho- more year, so I'm familiar with the position. As long as I can take care of getting everyone else set up, I think I should be good to go." Listed at 6-foot-0, 232 pounds, Hull isn't as bulky as some other inside line- backers around the country. The position is typically reserved for bigger players who thrive when they're mixing it up in tra

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