Add another one to the list. Liberty junior Aaron

Hull last week became the seventh Eagle football player in the last four

years to accept a full scholarship offer from a Division I college. 

The 5-foot-11, 258-pound defensive end/fullback

has made a verbal commitment to join Temple University's program. 

The Owls coaches could use Hull at one of three

different positions, according to Liberty Coach Tommy Buzzo. "He could play

either weakside defensive end, or inside defensive tackle or fullback," the

third-year coach said. Temple utilizes a wide-five defensive front, which uses

smaller, quicker players as pass-rushing defensive ends. 

Hull last season anchored a Liberty defense

that led the entire state of Virginia statistically. The Eagles limited

opponents to just 4.2 points a game and posted four shutouts in 10

regular-season games. Liberty's defense notched 67 tackles for a loss and 20.5

sacks for a combined loss of 124 yards. Last fall, the Eagles went 10-0 and won

their second straight Northwestern District title. Hull racked up 46 tackles —

nine for a loss — and a team-high eight sacks. He scored one defensive

touchdown, forced three fumbles and blocked one field goal. 

Hull was named Northwestern District Defensive

Player of the Year and earned first team all-region and second team all-state

honors. On offense, Hull split time at fullback and averaged 6.88 yards per

carry and 19 yards per catch. 

Although he's only 5-11, Hull has great

strength and athleticism. He boasts a 330-pound bench press and a safety squat

of 850 pounds. Hull can power clean more than 300 pounds. 

"We've charted his marks and keep

weightlifting records in our program and he is the strongest kid we've ever

had," Buzzo said of Hull, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. 

"The fact that he's only 5-11 is scary to

some, but I see this kid every day and he's a player. His potential at Temple

is tremendous." 

Hull came to Liberty as a highly touted

freshman. His older brother, Mike, had made quite a contribution to the

Eagles' program as an all-state fullback and linebacker. 

Buzzo and his assistants followed Aaron through

middle school and closely monitored him in summer workouts leading up to his

freshman year. Hull had a legitimate shot at starting along the defensive line

as a freshman. But he was involved in a severe car accident during the second

week of preseason practices, which claimed the life of one and injured five

others, including his sister Dominique, and brothers Mike —who had committed

to play for the University of Pittsburgh — and Adrian. Mike recovered from a

ruptured aorta and fractured pelvis and reported to football practice at

Pittsburgh one year later. But he was later deemed medically unable to perform

after blood clotting in his foot failed to clear up. Dominique played basketball

and earned state medals in discus the last two years. Aaron missed the first

half of his freshman season but eventually came back to play sparingly for the

varsity squad. 

Meanwhile, Aaron and his twin brother Adrian

Hull— a 5-7, 165-pound cornerback/running back — have taken every

defensive snap for the Eagles since their sophomore seasons. Approximately 33

Division I-A and I-AA football scouts visited Liberty's campus this past

spring to watch the Hulls, 6-foot-6, 303-pound offensive lineman Alex

Stadler and their teammates work out. Stadler has received full scholarship

offers from 19 D-I schools. 

But Temple became the first to officially

extend an offer to Aaron Hull. "Two weeks ago, Coach Buzzo asked me what I'd

do if someone put ($110,000) in my hand," Hull recalled on Monday. "I said,

I didn't know. He said, 'Temple has just given you a full scholarship worth

that much to play football.' I couldn't believe it." 

Hull called Temple's coaches and accepted the

offer one week later. "I could've waited. I probably would've got more

offers," Hull said. "But I didn't see the point. It seemed like the

perfect fit. It's a big thing for me. Nobody in my family has made it all the

way through college football and I want me and (Adrian) to be the

first." 

Hull will likely red-shirt his freshman season

at Temple, which this year left the Big East Conference for the Mid-American

Conference. He has the chance to help bolster a defense that gave up an average

of five yards a carry and 36.3 points a game. Temple last season went 1-4 in the

Big East Conference and 2-9 overall. 

You may contact Sports Editor Mike Jones at

347-5522, extension 235, or by e-mail at mbjones@citizenet.com