At San Diego State
- Kyle Hoke, nephew of Aztec head coach Brady Hoke, finished his fourth year at San Diego State coaching the Aztec safeties.
- Hoke hails from a football coaching family as his father (Jon Hoke) is currently the secondary coach with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and has spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears and Houston Texans, as well as stints with SEC powers Florida, South Carolina and Missouri, among other Division I programs.
- The 2023 season saw Hoke’s safeties total seven of the 11 Aztec interceptions, which ranked third in the league, and contribute to the 125.99 pass efficiency defense that was fourth-best in the Mountain West. Cedarious Barfield led the league in interceptions with four in his final season.
- In 2022, Hoke oversaw all-Mountain West first team selection Patrick McMorris. In his second straight all-conference season, McMorris was on both the preseason Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch lists and went on to rank second in the league pass coverage and fourth in defensive pass efficiency according to Pro Football Focus.
- During Hoke’s second season on The Mesa in 2021, SDSU led the Mountain West with 17 interceptions, which was tied for fifth nationally, while its league-best 118.01 pass efficiency defense was good for 13th in the country.
- Additionally, the Scarlet and Black occupied the second spot in the conference in total defense (324.4), which ranked 12th nationally.
- In Hoke's first year on the Aztec staff in 2020, SDSU finished third nationally in total defense with a conference-best 283.5 yards allowed per game and led the MW in passing efficiency defense (115.19). In addition, the Aztecs ranked second in the league in both passing yards allowed (185.2) and passes intercepted (8).
- Individually, Hoke coached two all-Mountain West performers in 2020, as Tariq Thompson garnered first-team accolades, while Dwayne Johnson Jr. received honorable mention. Thompson led the Aztecs with 41 tackles last season, including 25 solo stops, to go with 1.5 tackles for loss, one interception, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Despite missing a game, Johnson ranked second on the squad with 39 tackles (22 solo) while adding 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.
Previous Experience
- Prior to his arrival on The Mesa, Hoke coached the safeties at Indiana State in 2019.
- In Hoke’s lone season on the Terre Haute campus, the Sycamores allowed just 22.8 points and 338.3 yards per game.
- Individually, Hoke tutored ISU defensive back Michael Thomas, who received all-Missouri Valley Football Conference honorable mention after posting 79 tackles, a team-high three forced fumbles, two interceptions and three pass breakups in his first year at safety following a move from wide receiver.
- Before serving a one-year stint as safeties coach at Texas State, Hoke spent the 2017 campaign as defensive coordinator at Division III power John Carroll University.
- In his one season with the Blue Streaks, Hoke’s defense ranked second in the Ohio Athletic Conference in scoring defense (22.1), while linebacker Mason McKenrick was named a second-team Little All- American by the Associated Press and defensive lineman Connor Bogard received second-team All-North Region accolades.
- Prior to his move to JCU, Hoke spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at South Carolina, where he helped with the linebackers and was responsible for the running position and defensive breakdowns.
- In 2014, Hoke was the defensive quality control coach at Army West Point, working mainly with the defensive backs.
- Hoke entered the collegiate coaching ranks at Western Michigan, where he was a graduate assistant with the defensive backs (2012) and special teams (2013).
- One of Hoke’s pupils at WMU was defensive back Johnnie Simon, who was a third-team All-MAC selection in 2012.
Playing Experience
- Hoke played four years at Ball State, including all 14 games as a freshman in 2008 under head coach Brady Hoke. That season, the Cardinals started the year 12-0 and finished 22nd in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Education
- Graduated in 2012 from Ball State with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Personal
- Hoke and his wife Maddie reside in La Mesa with their daughter Rae.