STATE COLLEGE — To appreciate how confident Penn State linebackers coach Brent Pry is heading into the season, one must understand how dominant Mike Hull played a season ago.
The senior had 140 tackles. Nobody else on Penn State’s dominant defense had more than 75. He called the signals and read the offenses.
It’s production any linebackers coaches would worry about replacing.
So, why does Pry hardly seem worried about how to replicate that type of presence at middle linebacker this season?
Simple, he said. Even if Hull is gone, Nyeem Wartman-White isn’t.
“He showed me by Week 6 last year that he can be a (middle) linebacker in our defense,” Pry said. “He knew our defense as well as Mike Hull did, and he wasn’t afraid to bark out commands.
“He’s a take-charge guy. Putting him in the middle and letting him run with it? I think he’s absolutely ready for that. We’re going to like the results.”
The Valley View graduate has been waiting for this chance to be the linchpin of the linebacking corps in a program where that tradition is second to none. He started preparing for it last season, following Hull around in meetings, the weight room and on the practice field.
A funny thing happened this spring, though, when Wartman-White lined up in Hull’s spot for the first time: He seemed more like himself than he did Hull.
“Other than telling people where to line up and the perception that the (middle) is supposed to be the leader of the defense, I’d say there’s really no difference,” Wartman-White said. “I’m just moving nine feet to my left or to my right.
“I’m honored that I’m playing middle linebacker and all the things that people say go with it. But I’m just going to go out there and do the job.”
Doing the job, Wartman-White said, involves doing little more than playing within the team concept.
It’s not like there isn’t plenty of ability to chip in and replace Hull’s production. Strongside linebacker Brandon Bell is back after recording 47 tackles and two sacks last season, veteran Ben Kline is healthy again, and veterans like he, Gary Wooten and Von Walker will team with youngsters Jason Cabinda (who takes over Wartman-White’s old spot on the weak side) and Troy Reeder to form a loaded group led by Hull’s old sidekicks.
“Nyeem and Bell earned everybody’s respect last year,” Pry said. “They both played well. They played tough.”
A student of the game as well as Penn State’s rich linebacker history, Wartman-White said he can see the dreams he had the audacity to dream back at Valley View playing out before him.
But he’s not going to be mentioned with the Bowmans and Arringtons and Conlans and Hams, he said, by being an imitator. He learned that much from watching his predecessor, who stuck to his own strengths on the way to greatness.
“I don’t need to go out there and be anybody else,” Wartman-White said. “Mike Hull is Mike Hull. Nyeem is Nyeem. I just want to go out there and be the best player I can be for my team. That’s all I can offer.”