BleacherCoaches.com

Micheal Mauti left the team scrimmage on Sunday with an apparent ACL tear. This is the second year that torn ACL's effects the Nittany Lions. This is a loss for the Nittany Lions but if there were to be an injury, this is the position that would effect the Lions the least.

He's the fastest LB on the roster and a star in the making. Very unfortunate, but he has a redshirt season to burn, so he'll be fine. He was in a very heated battle w/ stupar and yancich, so I am not at all concerned with the replacement.

Yancich is going to be one heck of a a player. I was at a camp at the Steelers practice facility a year ago where he was demonstrating drills for linebackers. He's a freaking beast and one heck of a great kid. Tremendous work ethic.

So Yancich or Stupar are definitely gonna be his replacements? Because after his injury I thought that maybe Hull would stay in the middle like last season and Lee will be at the Fritz position and Bowman at Sam.

It looks like Hull will probably stay inside. Which might be okay b/c the DTs are stout. I just dont want Hull having to use his speed, or lack thereof. His technique is excellent. He's just slower than the rest of them.

So what I am hearing is:

-Obviously, Bowman and Lee are a given. Bowman is definitely Fritz. Lee is either middle or Sam.

If Sam, it will be Hall in the middle for the majority of the snaps.
If Middle, then it is a battle between Yanchich and Stupar for Sam.

I'm sorry but I'm not sold on anything Hull related so far. He brings back memories of when Geno was LB....making 70% of his tackles in the secondary, slow, etc. PSU is excellent and according to Vandy, has more depth at this position than at anytime during his tenure as position coach, so I am not too worried.

I agree completely frosty,

Hull is a super intelligent football player and great to have on the team. But athletically he caused some problems last year, IMO. If it wasn't for Tom Bradley finally putting Mauti on the field for Hull in the Michigan game, Penn State may have lost that one.

Stupar has always impressed the hell out of me even though it was on special teams. He seems to close very fast, hits hard, and plays 100%.

I hate to be the "give him a chance" guy here, bc I really don't want him starting either, but Josh Hull went through a lot of criticism last season. So much in fact that he addressed it in interviews. He knows ppl know he's slow footed. I'm willing to give the kid a chance to show how hard he's worked in the offseason. Remember: this kid is a hard enough worker that he earned a starting MLB spot at Penn State from being a walk-on.