POCATELLO — Solomon Wilcots had been hearing about Pocatello since high school.

Through his line of football connections, Pocatello kept popping up — the arcane, hard-working small town in Idaho.

For the first time, Wilcots visited the storied land. The former NFL defensive back and Emmy Award-winning broadcaster joined Pocatello natives and NFL brethren Dirk Koetter and Merril Hoge on Friday at the Idaho State Football Alumni Team (F.A.T.) meet and greet at Phil Meador Toyota. The three also played in the annual F.A.T. golf scramble Saturday at Highland Golf Course.

Former ISU assistant football coach Leo Brouhard, Wilcots’ high school football coach in Riverside, California, was the first to mention Pocatello to Wilcots. As he traversed through his six-year NFL career, Wilcots heard about Pocatello, again, from Hoge and Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, when Lewis was in his first year as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, eight years after he left Pocatello following a playing and coaching career at ISU.

“I heard a lot about it from so many people, from so many inspirational coaches in my life, and now I finally made it here,” Wilcots said. “I just heard that like Boulder, Colorado, where I went to school, that it was a good place, good people. Football was very important to the population here. Very small town built around the local university here.”

Wilcots pointed to Koetter, the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Hoge, a former NFL running back and veteran on-air NFL analyst, as products of the blue-collar, earned-not-given reputation Pocatello has.

Koetter and Lewis make Idaho State one of four institutions to produce multiple current NFL head coaches.

“It’s about work ethic,” Wilcots said. “I know we like to think that talent trumps our ability to go to work every day and have a certain focus and be very vigilant in how we do it, but it does not. Something tells me that the people here in Pocatello, they have good work ethic, that they haven’t been given a whole lot, and that whatever it is they get, they have to earn it.”

Hoge and Koetter returned to Pocatello for the first time since May and June, respectively, of last year. While Hoge’s job at ESPN is in limbo amid the network’s mass layoffs, he’s excited for the potential opportunity to get back into motivational speaking. His son, Beau, is a redshirt sophomore quarterback at BYU and will soon be joined by Merril’s nephew and Highland High graduate Tristen Hoge, who is transferring to BYU after two years at Notre Dame.

Tristen was ESPN’s top-rated center in the 2015 recruiting class. He and Beau both have three years of eligibility remaining, but Tristen must sit out the 2017 season per NCAA transfer rules.

“The only thing I dread is if there’s a quarterback-center exchange problem,” Merril said. “I don’t know who’s going to get the blame.”

Koetter guided the Buccaneers to a 9-7 record in his first season as the team’s head coach in 2016. The Bucs were one win away form a playoff berth and have budding offensive stars in quarterback Jameis Winston and wide receiver Mike Evans.

Koetter said that even in the NFL, with the highest-caliber football players in the world, football is just football.

“We use some of the same conceptual plays that we used when I played at Highland,” Koetter said. “Football’s football, and it’s always changing. But you’re always learning.”

Koetter has some rare downtime over the next month, as he and the team recently completed organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp. Rookies report to training camp July 25, and then the season rolls along.

“You get about a four- or five-week break,” Koetter said.

Hoge and Koetter also had some advice for Bengals first-year head football coach Rob Phenicie, who has had a hectic past few months since taking over for former head coach Mike Kramer in late March.

“Be yourself and let it rip,” Koetter said. “Everyone wants to tell you how to do it, but I’m sure he’s well-prepared for this. He’s spent his whole career getting to this point. He’s the boss now. Trust your instincts and go.”

Hoge referenced legendary head coach Chuck Noll, who he played under for five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“He was a phenomenal leader,” Hoge said. “What made him a great leader was he was a great teacher. So, you have to establish great footers for your organization, for your football team, and you build from there. … Hopefully, (Phenicie will) get enough time to establish those footers and develop something.”

The big topic of the night — the next day’s golf scramble — appears to be in Hoge’s favor.

“I’m sure I’m the worst,” Koetter said.

“I do believe that the Merril Hoge group will win the tournament,” Wilcots said.

“I took a year off,” Hoge said. “I’m not going pro yet, but I’m working on going pro. I’ve got a lot of work to do.”