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Mike Hull – August 12, 2017 Download PDF version

Saturday, August 12, 2017

LB Mike Hull

(Obviously it’s unfortunate what happened with LB Raekwon McMillan, but do you look at this as an exciting opportunity to be an NFL starter if you’re able to win the job?) – “Oh yes, definitely. It’s a great opportunity. You hate for something to happen like that to one of your teammates, but I’m just going to take it one day at a time, try to improve, try to get better, and work on my skills.”

(What’s your sense of what you do well as an NFL player defensively from what you’ve observed about yourself the last year?) – “(I’m) quick in the box, good in the box. I feel like I have a good nose for the football against the run, so I think those are my strengths, for sure.”

(How would you describe your progress as a linebacker at this level?) – “I definitely got better from whenever I came into the league; but I’m still continuing to grow every day, work on my skills, fine tuning everything in the defense, and I just want to keep getting better every day.”

(How did you prepare this summer? Did you do anything special?) – “I work out at a good gym up north. I work out with guys like (Dallas Cowboys LB) Sean Lee and (Jacksonville Jaguars LB) Paul Posluszny, good linebackers and we get good work in. It’s good to compete all summer with those guys.”

(I’m just going to ask you what Linebackers Coach Frank Bush or Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke indicated to you what the plan is going forward without LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “I think they’re going to roll groups and see what the best fit for our team is. I feel comfortable at any position. That’s kind of what my role has been the last couple of years, so wherever they feel like they need to play me and whatever’s best for the team, I think I can get the job done.”

(How much did starting, getting those couple games in last year, how much does that help you?) – “It helps a ton, just from a confidence level and just getting the speed of the game down. I think it goes a long way and having at least one start under your belt, it’s good.”

(What have been your early impressions of LB Lawrence Timmons and how much have you been picking his brain?) – “He’s a really aggressive player. He’s not afraid to hit you. Everyone’s in the meeting room every day bouncing ideas off of one another and seeing how he might have played things differently in Pittsburgh versus how he’s playing it now, and it’s good to have that kind of veteran guy in the room.”

(In spite of your enormous tackle numbers in the Big Ten, you’ve been overlooked in terms of not being drafted. Any sense why that is? Do you think it is size? What factors would you point to?) – “I don’t know; but that’s in the past now so all I can do is live in the present and keep working every day to solidify a job on this team.”

(Does that drive you at all, that sort of underdog perception?) – “Oh yes, every day. That’s always on my mind. It’s a chip on my shoulder every day so yes, I’m just out here working to prove everyone wrong.”

(Are you calling signals now?) – “Yes, I’ve called signals at Mike (linebacker) the last couple of years, so that’s not something that’s new to me. It’s just something I want to keep rolling with.”

(How do you size up the run defense? Obviously that was a major issue last year. Are you better this year? What signs do you see that maybe are better?) – “Honestly, I’m not going to speculate on anything. We just want to go one day at a time, take it one game at a time, and we’ll see as the season unfolds.”

(How frustrating was it to see teams running the way they were last year?) – “Obviously you don’t want teams running through your defense. You want to try to make teams one-dimensional so that’s something we’ve got to address and keep working on moving forward.”

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