Dec. 16, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State senior Mike Hull (Canonsburg) has earned another All-America selection, today being named an Associated Press third-team All-American.
Hull previously was named a second-team All-American by USA Today and a third-team All-American by Scout.
The Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, Hull led the conference with 134 tackles. He was named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media, as well as BTN.com and ESPN.com. Hull joins All-American Michael Mauti as recipients of the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year Award, giving LinebackerU two of the award's initial four recipients.
Twenty-one Nittany Lions have earned a total of 24 first, second or third-team All-America honors since 2005. With Hull's USA Today selection, five Penn State linebackers have earned a total of seven first or second-team All-America accolades since 2005: Paul Posluszny (2005-06), Dan Connor (2006-07), Navorro Bowman (2009), Michael Mauti (2012) and Hull (2014).
Hull has been instrumental in helping Penn State rank in the FBS Top 10 in all of the primary statistical categories: rushing defense (1st, 84.8 ypg), total defense (2nd, 269.8 ypg), scoring defense (8th, 17.7 ppg), pass efficiency defense (2nd, 99.71) and third down conversion pct. defense (6th, .301). The Nittany Lions are No. 1 in the Big Ten in rushing, total, scoring and pass efficiency defense.
A senior co-captain, Hull leads the Big Ten in tackles with 134 total tackles (11.2 tpg), averaging at least 1.9 tpg more than every other conference player. He ranks seventh nationally in stops and also leads the Big Ten in tackles in conference games only (96, 12.0 tpg). Hull has recorded 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three pass break-ups. Hull has led Penn State in tackles in 11 of 12 games this season, with eight double figure games and three games with nine stops.
The Nittany Lions' team MVP, Hull ranks No. 6 on Penn State's career tackles list with 288 and also is No. 6 on the Penn State season tackles list with 134.
The former Canon-McMillan High School All-American made a career-high 19 tackles vs. Ohio State, had 16 stops vs. Northwestern and 13 vs. Michigan State. Hull is on pace to become just the fifth Penn State player since 1975 to average at least 11.0 tackles per game, joining Greg Buttle (1974, '75), Andre Collins (1989), Shawn Mayer (2002) and Dan Connor (2007).
Coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions and Boston College will clash in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27 in their 24th all-time meeting and Penn State's 45th bowl appearance. The teams last met in 2004. The New Era Pinstripe Bowl will kick at 4:30 p.m. ET in Yankee Stadium (49,542) and air on ESPN, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State students, Nittany Lion Club and Penn State Alumni Association members have requested more than 11,000 tickets for the Pinstripe Bowl, including nearly 1,300 student tickets. Pinstripe Bowl tickets are available via the travel packages for the Official Penn State Bowl Tour, which can be purchased at www.PennStateSportsTours.com. Packages are available both with and without tickets for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Tickets for the game can be purchased, and information on all the related events can be found at www.pinstripebowl.com.
Penn State season ticket renewals also are underway for the 2015 campaign. There will not be any increase in the price of Penn State football season tickets or Nittany Lion Club donation levels for next season. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2015 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays, 10 a.m-6 p.m.
Penn State Football is on Twitter (@PennStateFball) and Facebook.