Pitt Football Lands Son of Former Steelers DT

Hoke had a sensational junior season for nearby North Allegheny High School in Wexford, Pa., making 66 tackles (29 solo), nine tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two blocked kicks and an interception.

His play led North Allegheny to the WPIAL Class 6A Championship, where they lost to Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Hoke made 12 tackles and blocked an extra point in the defeat.

He earned numerous accolades for his play, including All-Pennsylvania Second Team, First Team All-Big 56 Conference and the Pittsburgh Union Progress All-Star Team.

Hoke stands at 6-foot-2, 260 pounds and has great speed right off the snap, making it difficult for offensive lineman to block him from getting in the backfield.

Pitt offered Hoke back on Feb. 8, with defensive line coach Tim Daoust coming in to make the offer. Hoke also visited for a spring practice in early March.

Hoke also had offers from MAC schools in Akron, Buffalo, Kent State and Toledo, two other FBS offers in, Delaware, James Madison, New Mexico and Sacarmento State, Ivy League schools in Cornell, Harvard Penn and Princeton, with rival West Virginia his only other Power 4 offer other than Pitt.

He is also the son of former Steelers defensive tackle, Chris Hoke, who played in 114 games over eight seasons from 2004-11, winning two Super Bowls.

247Sports and Rivals both rate Hoke as a three-star, with 247Sports ranking him the No. 112 defensive lineman and No. 37 recruit in Pennsylvania.

Hoke is the first player to announce their commitment to Pitt after their official visit this weekend. Head coach Pat Narduzzi sent out four 'Pat Signals', with three commitments still not made public yet.

He is also the first player from the WPIAL in the Class of 2026 to commit to Pitt. Other WPIAL recruits making their official visit this weekend include Pittsburgh Central Catholic three-star linebacker Colsen Gatten, Pine-Richland offensive lineman John Curran and four-star edge rusher Reston Lehman from Peters Township.

Pitt now has six commitments in their Class of 2026, all three-stars. This includes quarterback Angelo Renda from Southlake High School in Carroll, Texas, safety Isaac Patterson from Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, defensive back Marcus Jennings from Cass Tech High School in Detroit and Florida wide receivers in Dylan Wester from Booker High School in Sarasota andDemetrice McCray from The First Academy in Orlando.