MILLHEIM, Pa. -- Dressed in a navy blue cap and gown, Josh Hull lifted himself out of his seat and took the podium to address the 107 other seniors at Penns Valley's high school graduation ceremony.
Standing underneath clear skies on a stage set up in the middle of the school's football field, the 2005 valedictorian glanced down at his speech -- proofread by his mother -- and spoke for about five minutes.
"I can remember him telling them, 'Follow your dreams,' " said his father, Jeff, who sat in those same bleachers on Friday nights just seven months before, watching his 205-pound son run and tackle players on the football field.
Who better to deliver such a message than the 4.0 grade-point average Penn State-bound football player? Someone who, although he comes from a small, old mill town tucked in the mountains of central Pennsylvania, would fight through improbable odds to climb from invited walk-on to leading Linebacker U in tackles his senior season.
Getting to Penn State Addressing the seventh grade members of the football program, Penns Valley varsity coach Martin Tobias took one look at a lanky, 100-pound Josh Hull and could tell he was a competitor.
"He had that focus, that look of determination," Tobias said.
Hull was set on playing fullback and linebacker for the Rams. At such a young age, football was simple.
"Everyone's awkward," Hull said. "You're not very athletic. It's just the basics. You line up here. Tackle the guy carrying the ball. If you get the ball, try to run for a touchdown."
Three years of varsity ball at a small Class AA school in the one-stoplight town prompts little interest from Division I-A college football coaches. In 14 years at Penns Valley, Tobias coached three Division I-A players -- Hull, former Penn State punter David Royer and former Army linebacker Evan Leitch.
It could've been one fewer if Hull wasn't set on going to Penn State's football camp the summer before his senior year of high school.
The camp gave Hull a chance to work one-on-one with linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden, allowing the coach "to take a look at what makes that kid tick, what's special about that kid, what he may be able to bring to the table," Tobias said.
More than 2,000 campers attended. Afterward, Vanderlinden pulled Hull aside from a group of linebackers and told him he'd keep an eye on him.
Vanderlinden then spoke with Tobias and said Hull was a better player than his offers from William & Mary and Bucknell would suggest.
"Josh said right away, 'If I have the chance to come here, I'm gonna come here,' " Jeff Hull said. " 'I wanna play at Penn State if I have the opportunity.' That was the end of the conversation."
Vanderlinden still wanted follow-up tape from Hull's senior season. Hull still checked out other schools to keep his options open in case Penn State didn't offer him a walk-on role. He visited Bucknell three times.
After the second visit, Hull's father noticed a change in his son, who enjoys hunting, fishing, trapping and the outdoors.
"I can remember him saying to me, he said, 'Boy, Dad, do you notice all the kids down here and where we parked?' " Jeff Hull said. " 'Boy, these kids must be rich. They're all driving BMWs and Mercedes, and they're all wearing fancy shirts with alligators on them.' I got this funny feeling like he thought, 'Well, maybe I ain't gonna fit in too good down here.' "
The third visit was more awkward. Hull and his family toured the locker room, seeing a blue-and-orange Bucknell jersey with his name on the back hanging in a locker.
The coach led them into his office and laid out the scholarship papers.
They got up, telling the coach they needed time to mull over the decision.
The coach spoke up before they walked out of the office.
"Josh remembers this to this day," Jeff Hull said. "We left there, the guy who was recruiting him, he said, 'Look, Josh, you do realize if you go to Penn State, you'll be a blocking dummy.' "
Tackling the critics
Sue Hull used to read blogs -- until she read her son did not deserve to be the starting middle linebacker at Penn State.
Critics' opinions filled articles, message boards and blogs during Hull's junior year, saying he was too slow, couldn't shed blocks, took bad angles and made tackles too many yards downfield.
"The hardest part of it is people never going through what he went through up there," Jeff Hull said. "People writing that stuff have never played football. People writing that stuff sat on that chair with their arm and make opinions and never lived the game."
Most people writing the criticism weren't aware Hull took 15 credits of his environmental systems engineering coursework during the fall semester, amounting to as much as 35 hours of school work per week -- on top of football. He said it was the most stressed he ever felt while balancing books and pigskin.
This fall, Hull has one class at 11 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and an independent study.
"Right now, I'm on easy street," he said. "I'm like a professional football player right now. It's definitely paid off. You guys can see that on the field. My numbers are up. I'm seeing the ball a lot better. I'm reacting a lot better."
With two games to go, Hull will likely lead the team in tackles. He has 95 tackles -- five shy of his career goal of recording 100 in a season. Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman, who have both missed three games with injuries, are second and third on the team in tackles with 63 and 62 stops, respectively.
Seeing his son close in on 100 tackles in a season doesn't surprise Jeff Hull -- he knew his son would be in the film room the extra 20 hours he gained with the lighter workload.
Hull's dad saw the results in Penn State's game against Illinois. In the hotel lobby the night before, Hull pulled his father aside and told him to keep an eye on Juice Williams during the game.
" 'I'm gonna tell you a secret for tomorrow's game, Dad,' " Jeff remembered Josh telling him. " 'You know Juice Williams? I picked up something on film, it's gonna help me out. When he's in shotgun, if his feet are squared with his shoulders, he's handing the ball off. If his right foot is back a little bit, he's gonna drop back and pass.'
"I just kind of chuckled at it, 'Yeah right.' Guess what, he was right."
Hometown hero
There's a sign on each end of Millheim that reads, "Millheim Pride. Home of Josh Hull."
He shrugs off the praise, never wanting to seem bigger than the town that molded him.
He returns to Millheim every other Sunday, usually with a pile of footballs, helmets and jerseys waiting for him from fans wanting his autograph.
He's a kid who would rather be hanging upside down in a tree than in front of a TV playing Nintendo. His parents joke they're the only house in town that never owned the popular video game console.
Even as a 2-year-old at his own birthday party, Hull hammered away at nails while his family built an additional room to their house -- no, not with a plastic toy hammer. One just like Dad's.
Josh's personal space in his basement is filled with stuffed squirrels, bucks, ducks and other items from the outdoors.
Whether it was holding a fishing rod out in the stream or trying to wrap up a ball carrier, Josh Hull's 18 years in Millheim made him the man he is today.
"You can take care of your own problems if you're self-efficient," Jeff Hull said.
The next step
Sue Hull was at a recent Quarterbacks Club gathering when someone asked her son what he intends to do with his degree in environmental systems engineering.
Hull announced his intentions to take a shot toward the NFL.
He knows such an option wouldn't be possible if Lee, one of his best friends, hadn't gotten hurt last year to create an opening for Hull at middle linebacker. NFL agents wouldn't be calling the house, asking Jeff and Sue about Josh.
He's a goal-setter, Sue Hull said. And when he has his sights set on something, he doesn't back down.
Tobias, the high school coach, said Hull has a realistic chance of getting invited to mini camp after next April's draft.
Then he'd be in the same position he was when he left Tobias' program -- proving his worth at the next level.
But regardless of whether or not Hull makes it in the NFL, Millheim will always admire the child it helped raise.
"Josh's legacy is gonna be that of a true student-athlete," Tobias said. "I don't think I coached anyone like him."
