Rams Stay Smart: They Re-Sign Ivy League Educated Michael Hoecht for the 2024 Season

Michael Hoecht Bio and Stats

Michael Hoecht was born in Oakville, Ontario, Canada in 1997.

He is 6’4″ and weighs 310 lbs.

He attended college in the Ivy League, and played four seasons for the Brown University Bears. Hoecht played defensive line at Brown. He was named a team captain. In his senior year, he was named second-team All-Ivy League. However, Brown finished in last place in the Ivy League in each of Hoecht’s last three years there.

Hoecht wanted to play professionally, and was trying to get on the radar of pro scouts, However, as reported by Sports Illustrated:

“An agent told him the year before that he had a shot at playing professionally, but an Ivy League program coming off three consecutive last-place finishes doesn’t draw much attention from the NFL.”

Former L.A. defensive line coach Eric Henderson was intrigued by game film of Hoecht during his Ivy League career.  Henderson thought Hoecht might be a diamond in the rough. Henderson’s discovery of Hoecht was the beginning of Hoecht’s story in Los Angeles (Henderson left the team following the 2023 season to join the USC Trojans football staff).

Following the 2020 NFL Draft, Los Angeles signed Hoecht as an undrafted free agent. Nick Coit, the Sports Director at ABC News in Providence, Rhode Island (the Brown campus is located in Providence, R.I.), tweeted about the signing:

It’s a pretty big deal for a Brown alumnus to make it onto an NFL team. Hoecht is currently the lone NFL player from Brown!

In the 2020 season, Hoecht, who was then playing defensive line, was on L.A.’s practice squad.

Hoecht made the regular 53-man roster in 2021. He played in all games during the regular season and started in three. He also played in all postseason games that year, including the Super Bowl.

In December 2021, Sports Illustrated ran a feature article about Hoecht, entitled, “How Did Michael Hoecht Get Here?” The article has a catchy subtitle:

The story of just another Canadian prospect from a last-place Ivy League program who now shares the defensive line with Aaron Donald.

Midway through the 2022 season, L.A. moved Hoecht from defensive line to outside linebacker. In his first start in his new position, he had “two sacks, three quarterback hits, and one forced fumble.” Based on his performance in the 2022 season, Turf Show Times rated Hoecht the eleventh-best player on the team.

Continuing his progression, Hoecht started all 17 regular season games for the Rams in 2023. He also played in the team’s playoff loss to the Detroit Lions. During the regular season, he had six quarterback sacks. In the playoff loss to Detroit, he was credited with half a sack and two quarterback hits.

During the 2023 season, Hoecht was high on the list of L.A. players with the greatest number of quarterback pressures.

Hoecht’s New Deal With the Rams

Turf Show Times reports:

“The Los Angeles Rams were expected to sign edge rusher Michael Hoecht to a restricted free agent contract and that was made official on Tuesday: Hoecht signed his tender and is officially returning to the Rams for 2024.”

Hoecht will make approximately $3 million in 2024, “and that’s a [genuinely] fair cost for a player” who has an established track record like Hoecht. Significantly, he is now very familiar Sean McVay and the entire Rams coaching staff.

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