Have you heard this story from Brady Hoke
A plumber, a priest and Brady Hoke walk into a bar... It's not really a joke, it just sounds like one.
But in all seriousness, have you heard Brady Hoke tell this recruiting trip story?
During a Zoom press conference to discuss San Diego State football's recent recruiting and transfer class, Head Coach Brady Hoke was discussing how recruiting has changed over the years. Then, Hoke launched into an epic story from his days as a defensive line assistant coach at Western Michigan in the mid-1980s.
Hoke smiled as he recalled pulling into an Indiana neighborhood that was completely shut down to vehicle traffic due to a snowstorm, so any chance of driving to the recruit's house were shot.
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"I go back to where you used to have to take the letters of intent to the homes. I can remember being on a snowmobile in Fort Wayne, Indiana, because of a blizzard delivering a letter of intent to be signed," Hoke said.
After getting the recruit signed, Hoke's snow journey continued.
"Then getting off the snowmobile, going to a gas station to call the next kid's parents' house I was going to, and my wife is having a baby. So, then I had the Indiana State Police taking me to the border to Michigan. So, that's how I remember recruiting."
So basically, Hoke was riding around Indiana on a snowmobile in a blizzard getting high school football players to sign letters of intent and going to gas stations to use payphones to call potential players parents, while his pregnant wife Laura was at home. That's some old-school recruiting.
Now, so much of recruiting, from home visits to letters of intent, can be done with technology. Snowmobiles out, iPhones in.
The personality that Hoke showed in re-telling that story could be one of the reasons the Aztecs added some big-time players in the NCAA football transfer portal.
With classes starting Wednesday at San Diego State University, the Aztecs were able to officially announce five transfers that will join the team for the 2022 season.
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The five transfers include offensive lineman Cade Bennett (Oklahoma State), defensive lineman Deven Lamp (Tulsa), linebacker Cooper McDonald (Washington), tight end Mark Redman (Washington) and defensive lineman Justus Tavai (Hawai’i).
Hoke did not rule out the possibility of other transfers joining the Aztecs, even hinting that it's a strong possibility that more transfers will be headed their way.
San Diego State kicks off its 100th season of football Saturday, Sep. 3 against the University of Arizona at the new Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley.
