TicketsWill Hoge enters his first season on the Bearcats Football staff as the assistant edges coach, reuniting with defensive coordinator Nate Woody, whom he worked for in 2024 at Army.
Prior to Cincinnati, Hoge served as a defensive assistant coach (defensive quality control / assistant defensive line) at the University of Utah in 2025. During his time in Salt Lake City, he helped coach a unit that ranked No. 16 nationally in scoring defense (18.67 PPG), second in the Big 12 in total sacks, and first in the country in fastest time to pressure the quarterback by defensive linemen. His work upfront helped develop First-Team All-American defensive end John Henry Daley and Second-Team All-Big 12 defensive end Logan Fano.
Hoge came to Utah after spending the 2024 season at Army working as a defensive quality control and assistant defensive line coach, including serving as interim defensive line coach for the Independence Bowl that season, before working with the safeties in spring ball of 2025. At West Point, Hoge helped guide the Black Knights to an AAC Championship, a school-record 12-2 season, and an Independence Bowl victory. Army’s defense ranked No. 1 nationally in red zone defense, No. 5 in scoring defense (15.5 PPG), and No. 9 in total defense (297.8 YPG) while producing Second-Team All-AAC defensive lineman Kyle Lewis.
In 2023, Hoge was a defensive analyst and assistant defensive line coach at the University of Montana, helping lead the Griz to a Big Sky Conference Championship and an appearance in the FCS National Championship game. Montana boasted the top scoring defense in the Big Sky and the No. 5 scoring defense nationally, with Hoge helping produce First-Team All-American defensive lineman Alex Gubner.
Hoge began his collegiate coaching career at George Fox University (2021–2022) as the defensive line coach under Chris Casey. In 2022, he helped guide the Bruins to an 8-2 mark, which was the best record in program history at the time, and a top-20 national ranking in sacks. During his tenure in Newberg, Hoge developed five All-League defensive linemen and one All-Region selection.
Before making the jump to college football, Hoge spent four seasons on staff at Churchill High School in Eugene, Oregon (2017–2020), serving as running backs and defensive backs coach before being elevated to defensive coordinator for the 2020–2021 season. He helped lead Churchill to a state championship runner-up finish in 2017 and fielded the No. 6 defense in the state in 2020.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Hoge attended Lincoln High School and went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Communication with a focus in Advertising from the University of Oregon in 2020.