By Diane Gasper-O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n
HAYS, Kan. — Fort Hays State University football fans might have wondered the past two seasons why the Tigers\u2019 star defensive end was wearing the No. 8 jersey, a number more often worn by quarterbacks and players in skill positions.<\/p>\n
That number must be special to him for some reason, fans concluded.<\/p>\n
Even for those not familiar with how uniform numbers are assigned, it didn\u2019t take long to realize that No. 8 — Sie Doe Jr., whose last name means \u201cblessed\u201d in his culture — was blessed with some special athletic talent.<\/p>\n
Public address announcer Ken Windholz dragged out the name \u201cSee-ee-ee-ee Doe-oe-oe-oe\u201d a lot during the 2015 and \u201916 seasons.<\/p>\n
Doe used his cat-quick moves to record 146 tackles, including a school record-tying 21.5 quarterback sacks, during his two-year FHSU career. He set the single-season school sacks record with 15 this fall en route to being chosen MIAA Defensive Player of the Year.
\n,
\nThe 6-foot, 1-inch, 230-pound Doe will try to help the Tigers accomplish something special when they take on Eastern New Mexico University in the Heart of Texas Bowl in Copperas Cove, Texas, on Dec. 3.<\/p>\n
This marks the first time in FHSU football history that the Tigers (7-4) have advanced to postseason action in consecutive seasons. A win over Eastern New Mexico would be the first postseason win ever for the Tiger program.<\/p>\n
Doe has one more time to don that No. 8 FHSU jersey, and he plans to make the most of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is another opportunity to take a step forward for our program,\u201d he said. \u201cI tell other players you need to leave this program better than what you found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the kind of leadership that Ike Equae, FHSU\u2019s defensive line coach, has come to expect from Doe.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a team guy; he really wants everybody around him to be the best they possibly can,\u201d Equae said. \u201cHe\u2019s that kind of leader; he wants others to watch him perform and follow behind him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Equae wasn\u2019t just talking about football, and neither is Doe when he calls himself \u201crelentless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doe revealed the reason for wearing the No. 8 jersey. Born on the Ivory Coast in May 1993, Doe escaped a civil war in West Africa with his mom and his younger sister, Kadija, when he was 12 years old. They landed in Buffalo, N.Y., then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where his sister died at the age of 8 from an illness when Doe was in high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister and I were really close, and I\u2019ve worn No. 8 ever since she passed away,\u201d Doe said.<\/p>\n
Equae started recruiting Doe out of Butte College, a two-year community college in California, in the spring of 2015.<\/p>\n
Doe had established himself as one of the best defensive ends in the country at the community college level, leading Butte to an undefeated season and national championship his freshman year, then earning multiple postseason honors as a sophomore. But Doe\u2019s first question to Equae had nothing to do with performance or his chances of playing immediately at FHSU.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked him if number 8 was available,\u201d Doe said. \u201cI explained to Coach Ike that if I couldn\u2019t get that number, I wouldn\u2019t come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucky for Fort Hays State, standout defensive back Nathan Lindsey, who wore No. 8 for the two seasons prior to that, had moved on to the NFL.<\/p>\n
The NFL is where Doe has aspirations to be someday, and Equae won\u2019t bet against him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is probably one of a handful of players who absolutely wants to be the best he can possibly be, in every facet of the game,\u201d Equae said. \u201cHe is the one player up here in the office the most watching film. He wants to evaluate not only himself, but the people he is playing against, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Equae witnessed that persistence in Doe\u2019s first year at FHSU.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter about the fourth or fifth game, people were double- and triple-teaming him and chip blocking,\u201d Equae said. \u201cBut he did not let that stop him. He has a motor that will not stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then at the end of the 2015 season, Equae, who had just completed his second year of coaching at FHSU, learned that Doe had earned honorable mention honors in the MIAA, one of the top NCAA Division II conferences in the nation.<\/p>\n
Doe appreciated the recognition, but he wanted more.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came into my office and was very upset about getting (honorable mention),\u201d Equae said. \u201cHe wanted to know what to do to become one of the best in the conference. So we made goals, and he never wavered from that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doe returned to California last summer to put in extra work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d wake up at 4 a.m. and go run, go lift then go to the field three times a day and work on my technique,\u201d Doe said. \u201cI\u2019ve watched (NFL players) to see the things they do to be successful. It\u2019s not just about talent. It\u2019s about the work you put in during the offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he returned to Hays for his senior campaign, \u201cyou could tell he was definitely on another level,\u201d Equae said.<\/p>\n
Indeed.<\/p>\n
In addition to his 15 quarterback sacks, Doe had 18.5 tackles for loss this season and five forced fumbles, which ties him for first in the nation in NCAA D-II. He reached his goal of being named to the first team in the MIAA — and was named the top defensive player of the year to boot.<\/p>\n
Doe said he always knew growing up he wanted to play professionally, but it was a different kind of football.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had played soccer my whole life, and I wanted to play professional soccer like my cousin,\u201d he said of Darlington Nagbe, a midfielder for the U.S. men\u2019s national soccer team who also plays for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I transferred high schools my sophomore year, and the football coach said he wanted me to try football,\u201d Doe continued. \u201cHe told me in the U.S., football is the thing, that I could get scholarships to get my college education paid for, so I thought, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll try football.\u2019 So I grew into a football body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doe took his soccer skills with him onto the football field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about your feet and quickness in soccer,\u201d he said. \u201cSo that definitely helps me, having played soccer for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doe said his work ethic comes from his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer struggles, what I\u2019ve seen her go through and still be relentless,\u201d he said, \u201cthat\u2019s my No. 1 focus and the thing that inspires me.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Doe also credits Eguae, who he calls a father figure, and Fort Hays State for a big part of his success. He is on track to graduate in December with a degree in organizational leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have learned so much at Fort Hays State, mainly to put others first and deal with situations and hang in there no matter what,\u201d he said. \u201cNothing I did this year was because of me. It was because of God, my mother, Coach Ike and my teammates. Had I gone anywhere else, I wouldn\u2019t have been the player I am now. I wouldn\u2019t have been the person I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doe hopes for one final Tiger victory on Dec. 3 before pursuing his dream of playing in the NFL. Information about the bowl game, including ticket prices, can be found at [www.fhsuathletics.com]www.fhsuathletics.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have to do our job,\u201d Doe said. \u201cEvery single one of us has to go out there and be a Tiger — and scratch and scratch and scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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