BYU football: Cougars add two talented linemen in Hoge and Empey

The BYU football family got bigger today (literally) with the addition of two offensive linemen.

BYU football announced the additions of Tristen Hoge and James Empey on Monday.

The two offensive linemen will compete with a talented a deep group already in place for the Cougars.

Hoge is a Notre Dame Fighting Irish transfer. He played in six games with the Irish last season and was the program’s 2015 Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year.

Hoge went to Pocatello High School (ID) and was a fairly highly touted prospect.

He was ranked the No. 1 center in the nation (and the 48th player overall on the Scout 300 list) out of high school and racked up offers from the likes of LSU, Florida, Stanford and Penn State – among many others.

He is the cousin of BYU quarterback Beau Hoge and is listed at 6-foot-4, 303-pounds.

Hoge will have three years of eligibility.

Empey is a 6-foot-4, 270-pound lineman from American Fork High School (UT).

He recently returned from his LDS Church mission to Portugal, and his father Mike is BYU football’s offensive line coach.

Empey is a three-star prospect according to Rivals, Scout and 247Sports. 247Sports also had Empey as the No. 14 Utah offensive guard. Rivals listed Empey as the 11th best player in the state.

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In 2014, Empey was named a 5A All-State offensive guard by both the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune.

Empey was also recruited by Washington and Utah – among others.

In my estimation, you can never have too many linemen on the roster. Every program needs plenty of depth up front, and BYU football is no different. So both of these guys will be welcome additions to the program.

Who knows how their careers will play out, but all signs point to Hoge being the successor to Tejan Koroma at center moving forward.