Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2015 RECRUITING ISSUE The Hoge family first visited Notre Dame in June 2013, and it wasn't nec- essarily love at first sight for Tristen when it came to learning. "When I first came here, I was hav- ing a tough time conforming to [of- fensive line] Coach [Harry] Hiestand's techniques. We went back to the hotel and I said, 'Holy cow. This is so m u c h d i ff e re n t from what I've learned. What is going on here?' I questioned myself at that point. "My dad said, 'Go there tomor- row, accept ev- erything you're doing, leave your mind open. Forget everything you've done and just do it.' I ended up lov- ing it and I ended up excelling with it and from that day, it was clock- work from there." As Notre Dame's second ver- bal commitment in the cycle, Hoge quickly became a leader in the class and helped pitch the program to re- cruits. "They look up to people like me and [four-star defensive lineman early en- rollee Jerry Tillery], knowing we've been strong for so long," he said. "I've been committed for over a year, and I haven't wavered one bit. They look to that because it shows loy- alty to the program and the school it- self, showing they can rely on me to be loyal to them and not waver on them. "It put me in a little bit of a leader- ship role right away because I've al- ways known people would look up to that for advice, for wondering what this university is about. They think I should know everything because I've done it for a year. "Everybody has determined we're going to be a close team. When every- body comes face to face, I don't think we're going to sep- arate into cliques. I think everybody's going to come to- gether, and I think it will bring every- body tighter." As is the norm for freshmen of- fensive linemen, Hoge will likely redshirt in 2015. With starting center candidates Nick Martin and Matt Hegarty both entering their fifth seasons of eligibility, Hoge could start at the position in 2016. "This is a unique player in the sense that he's already been groomed for the offensive center position," head coach Brian Kelly said. "He shotgun snapped his entire high school career, and we really feel like we've got a guy that has got a great upside com- ing in at the center position." It's been no secret the past few years BGI FILM ANALYSIS: TRISTEN HOGE Strengths An old-school, blue-collar type of player … He loves contact and the physicality of the sport … Off the field he is soft spoken, but on the field he plays with anger and intensity. Technically, he is a better run blocker than pass protector, although he's above average in both categories … He has tremendous strength and size, and overpowers his opponents, especially in the run game. Areas To Improve His high school team runs the football most of the time, so pass protection is an area he needs to develop … He's shown athleticism and solid footwork in a camp setting, but he will need to become more technically sound before he contributes in a Notre Dame uniform.