Hull elated by selection in NFL Draft

From arriving at Penn State as a walk-on, earning a scholarship and eventually becoming a starting linebacker for the Nittany Lions his junior and senior seasons, Josh Hull's journey has officially come full-circle.

Drafted by the St. Louis Rams as the 254th overall pick, the next-to-last pick in the entire NFL Draft, on Saturday, Hull is starting fresh at the next level.

Frankly, he couldn't be happier.

"I'm elated. It's a great opportunity," he said via phone. "Second to last pick in the draft is near the bottom but I started at the bottom at Penn State. I went from a walk-on to becoming the leading tackler my senior year at Penn State so I'm going into this with the same mindset.

"It's no new territory for me. I'm extremely excited to go to Missouri. Being sort of from a rural area, I think that's really going to work out well for me. I think I'm going to really enjoy it."

After surprising himself by earning an invite to the NFL Combine in late-February, Hull's stock gradually rose throughout the spring.

By the time the week leading up to the draft came around, Hull said he was receiving calls from 10-12 teams all saying they were highly interested in taking him in the sixth round on Saturday.

Of course, for as high as his expectations were for the possibility that he'd be drafted, all he could do was sit and wait on Saturday afternoon to see what would happen.

Flanked by his mother, father and brother in his living room, the Hulls patiently watched the picks progress throughout the day.

"It was a long day," he said. "I started getting phone calls in the 6th round. Teams said they were going to try to get me with the next pick from like 10 different teams. They would call me and say they were going to take me with their next selection and then they would announce the next pick and it wouldn't be me. I kept getting frustrated.

"I was actually on the phone with Rex Ryan from the New York Jets for about 10-15 minutes working on a free agent deal, but then I got a call from the St. Louis Rams saying I had been selected.

"It was a huge relief. Just from the start the day was so stressful."

Now that he's been selected, the real fun begins.

Although contract details haven't been discussed and probably won't be worked out for some time, Hull's work begins almost immediately.

"I get the info and playbook in the mail tomorrow," he said. "Then I have a conference call with the linebackers coach Joe Vitt on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then I go to St. Louis and mini-camp runs through the weekend.

"I'm just so excited for the opportunity."