(Note: This is a column written Tuesday. Hull was not made available to the media until Wednesday. To read his responses to the criticism, click on the Nittany Nuggets blog link to the right.)

UNIVERSITY PARK - Josh Hull is, by all accounts, a great kid with a good head on his shoulders who's excelling academically in engineering and likely will go on to lead a successful life.

That said ...

Hull has not played well so far as Penn State's starting middle linebacker.

He has only 21 tackles in five games, has been run over and dragged by ball carriers for extra yards, has not shown good closing speed on tackles and doesn't seem to have a good nose for the ball.

No one's asking Hull to be Paul Posluszny or Dan Connor, but he's on pace for just 54 tackles over a 13-game season. That's not going to cut it at middle linebacker. Connor, by the way, had 145 stops last year and Posluszny 116 in 2006.

Hull is a great story - a local kid from Penns Valley High School who dreamed about going to Penn State, walked on and eventually earned a scholarship and starting job.

Criticizing a kid like that just seems wrong.

But this is big-time college football - a big business with millions of dollars at stake - and Hull starts for a team that has a legitimate chance to play for a national championship in a few months.

Yes, the Lions are that good, particularly on offense. They will be favored to win probably all but one of their remaining games, and that lone contest - a trip to Ohio State on Oct. 25 - could be the make-or-break game of the season.

For the team to reach its lofty goals, it must address some areas of concern, namely kickoff coverage and pass defense.

And while it may not be fair to single out Hull, it's clear the Lions will need better production from his position in order to shut down opposing offenses.

Joe Paterno has said hundreds of times that, to be successful, a team must have the right player in the right place doing the right thing at the right time.

Is Hull the right player at middle linebacker? Paterno seems to think so and said Tuesday he thinks Hull has ''played well.''

Legions of Penn State fans on Internet message boards disagree as they have been criticizing Hull's play for weeks. No, message boards aren't always reliable because people can get on there and spew anything, but the sheer volume of people making critical remarks is undeniable.

Some media outlets also have been critical of Hull's play, including USA Today, which noted the linebacker was dragged by ball carriers and out of position a lot against Illinois.

Paterno was told of the criticism and said it's unwarranted.

''You want me to be critical of people who are too dumb to know what a good football player is?'' the coach said.

Paterno went on to add: ''No, no he's a good, solid football player. I'm not going to get into [that] and justify criticism. You know, I go through that all the time. People call me up and say, 'Do you know what so and so said about you? I say, 'No, I don't know what they said about me, and I really don't care.' And I think Josh is probably in the same boat.''

It's unclear if Hull knows the criticism exists or how he feels about it. He has not been made available to the media yet this week but is scheduled to be on a teleconference this morning. His comments will be posted today in my Nittany Nuggets blog at altoonamirror.com.

Sean Lee's season-ending knee injury in the spring created questions about PSU's middle linebacker spot. The Lions have a star in the making in Navorro Bowman playing outside, while Tyrell Sales starts on the other side.

Bani Gbadyu started outside the first three games before being replaced by Bowman. Meanwhile, Hull rarely comes out of games.

A linebacker unit of Bowman, Sales and Gbadyu would seem to be much stronger. There's also seldom-used backup Chris Colasanti, who came in with high expectations but hasn't had much of an opportunity to showcase his skills.

Hull calls the plays in the huddle and is reliable that way because of his intelligence, but that shouldn't be enough of a reason to keep a player who's not performing well in the game. Paterno should have learned that lesson when he stuck with Anthony Morelli last year instead of giving Daryll Clark more playing time.

It's only been five games, and Hull may improve a lot the rest of the season. If he doesn't, it could end up costing Penn State in a big game.

Cory Giger is at 949-7031 and cgsports12@aol.com.