Welcome back to The Victory Degree Podcast! There are plenty of podcasts out there and so I thank you for choosing The Victory Degree today - the podcast where my mission is to interview the most influential people in sports both on and off the field.

Today’s guest is Merril Hoge. Merril was a running back in the NFL for 8 seasons for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears. Hoge’s NFL career saw him amass 3139 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns before having to retire due to a concussion misdiagnosis. Merril went on to have a successful career as a sports personality on ESPN before being laid off in 2017. Merril’s journey has been full of ups and downs: from losing his mother at the age of 19 to being diagnosed with cancer in 2003 to having open heart surgery in 2015. Despite all these challenges, Merril has always been able to “find a way.”

In this interview, Merril reveals his journey to the NFL, how he deals with moments of self-doubt, how he’s been able to navigate tragedy and life’s toughest challenges, his abysmal draft combine experience, what he has learned from hunting with Big Ben, and much more…

As always, I sincerely hope you enjoy this episode. And if you do, please consider leaving a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find this episode. It helps the show more than you know. With that, let’s get to the episode…

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Intro

(02:08) Johnny Manziel

(03:59) Find a Way

(13:13) How To Defeat Self-Doubt

(18:57) How Merril Dealt With His Mother Passing Away

(24:45) Merril's Draft Combine

(30:00) Concussion Misdiagnosis

(39:01) Cancer & Open-Heart Surgery

(47:58) Happiness

(54:01) Hunting With Big Ben

(01:00:06) Life Advice

Connect with Merril:

Twitter: x.com/merrilhoge

Instagram: www.instagram.com/merrilhoge/

Connect with Nik:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikatanackovic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nik_Atanackovic

Merril Hoge Tells All: Surviving Cancer, Terrible NFL Draft Combine, Hunting w/Big Ben & Overcoming Self-Doubt