Canon-Mac’s Hull gets first taste of playoffs not far from home
PITTSBURGH – Like many other young football players in the Pittsburgh area, one of Mike Hull’s goals was to play a game at Heinz Field.
He can check that one off his bucket list, even though the result wasn’t one he wanted.
The former Canon-McMillan standout made his NFL postseason debut Sunday and checked off playing a game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh’s 30-12 AFC Wild Card playoff vuctory over Miami.
Hull, a reserve linebacker and special teams ace for the Dolphins, admitted to having plenty of nervous energy going into the game.
“I was really excited, pumped up,” said Hull, who had about 15 family members in attendance. “It was a great experience to play here, even though it didn’t work out how we wanted.”
Hull didn’t see any action on defense, but he did see plenty of time on special teams. In the fourth quarter, he recorded his only tackle, stopping Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown on a punt return.
The Steelers, who had lost 30-15 to the Dolphins in Miami back in Week 6, turned the tables on Miami in this game.
But the result didn’t diminish what Miami accomplished this season under first-year head coach Adam Gase, Hull’s third head coach in two NFL seasons. The Dolphins made the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
“Any time you can make the playoffs, that’s a success,” said Hull, who joined Miami as an undrafted free agent last season after a stellar career at Penn State.
“A lot of players in this locker room had been around the league and a lot of guys hadn’t even made the playoffs. It’s definitely a good achievement, but we’re not satisfied. We want to keep building.”
Hull hopes to be a part of that. Gase raved about the young linebacker earlier this season, calling him an instinctive football player.
Hull played well for Miami when pressed into a starting role because of injuries in a 26-23 win over Arizona. He matched the team lead with eight tackles in that game and also recorded his first career interception, snaring a pass after it tipped off the hands of Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. It was the highlight of a season in which Hull made 33 tackles.
Last season, Hull became the first former Washington-Greene high school football player to appear in an NFL game since Scott Zolak and Anthony Peterson of Ringgold retired in 1999. He spent the entire season on Miami’s roster after opening the season on the practice squad.
Hull hopes to continue growing in his third NFL season. He knows that, as a special teams player, he’ll be fighting for a roster spot.
He will take a month off before beginning to train for the 2017 season.
“It’s a long season,” said Hull. “Training started a long time ago. I’ll take off a month and get back into it. I’ll be back up here in the next two weeks and train at ESI.”
Hull does his offseason training at Evolution Sports Institute in Bridgeville, where he works out with several Steelers, including Alejandro Villanueva and former Penn State teammate Jesse James.
Spurning the warm weather of Miami in the offseason also affords him some time to pursue some of his other hobbies, such as fishing and watching wrestling.
“Between Canon-Mac wrestling and Penn State wrestling, I’ll probably be there for some matches,” said Hull who was a key member of Canon-McMillan’s state championship wrestling team in 2010.
But the main goal for this offseason, like it will be for the rest of the Dolphins, will be finding a way to build off of the experience gained this season.
Miami only had 12 players on its roster with postseason experience prior to Sunday. After seeing what it takes to get to the postseason, Hull and the Dolphins want to return.
“I don’t know anyone who was content with just being in the playoffs,” said Miami running back Jay Ajayi. “We wanted to win the whole thing. I know I did. It hurts.”
That sting will linger for a while.
But the experience of it all could pay off down the road.
“The intensity picked up. The sense of urgency picked up,” said Hull. “I think a lot of guys are going to learn from this experience and take it into next year.”