By GREG ECHLIN
Kansas News Service
When Kofi Boye-Doe and his family emigrated from Ghana to the United States in 2003, there were two connections he wouldāve never imagined making in his new country: American football and the Kansas State Wildcats.
But 19 years later, his youngest son, born in a country where soccer is practically a religion, has excelled on the gridiron. After being raised in Lawrence, on the University of Kansas doorstep, Ekow Boye-Doe is doing it in Manhattan.
Plus, the starting senior cornerback for the Wildcats is enjoying the best stretch of football in his life. One week after the Wildcatsā victory over the Jayhawks, their biggest rivals, K-State is playing a 12-0 team from Texas Christian University Saturday in the Big 12 Football Championship.
āIn high school I went to the playoffs, first-round, and lost,ā said Boye-Doe, a Lawrence High School graduate who was born in Accra, Ghanaās capital city. Boye-Doe was 3 years old when his family settled in Kansas.
āThat was the closest to a championship Iāve ever gotten,ā he said.
Since then, he has distinguished himself with blazing speed.
"I mean, he's fast," senior defensive nose guard Eli Huggins said.
āYou know what type of mindset and work ethic heās going to show up with every day,ā said Huggins. āItās nice to have a veteran guy like that you know you can count on back there.ā
Boye-Doeās consistent defensive play has earned him a 2022 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
āI can run really fastā
Kofi Boye-Doe said his sonās speed comes from his mother, Valentina, who was a high school middle-distance runner in Ghana. But neither track nor soccer caught on with Ekow.
āIām not a fan of just running for fun, and the workouts honestly,ā said Boye-Doe with a laugh. āFootball was my best option. I can run really fast.ā
Boye-Doe remembers playing soccer after learning to walk and run in Ghana, but he got attached to football after moving to the USA. In Lawrence, his best friendās dad convinced the speedy youngster to play youth football.
āI stuck with it. I loved it,ā he said.
At Lawrence High School, Boye-Doe hardly left the field, playing wide receiver on offense, and defensive back the rest of the time.
Kofi admits he wasnāt crazy at first about his son deviating from the path to KU, where Ekowās older twin brothers graduated. Both became successful in their own fields, one as a resident doctor in Chicago and the other as an accountant.
āSports wasnāt my first love,ā Kofi said, recalling his hopes for his youngest son. āGo get some sociology or something, then go to law school ā do something.ā
āI wasnāt so much into that kind of sport,ā said Kofi, who shied away from attending some of Ekowās games early on because of how rough the gameplay was.
But all of that has changed.
āOf course,ā laughed Kofi, who retired from the Johnson County, Kansas, Department of Corrections this year. He still teaches criminal justice at Johnson County Community College, and is a daily services coordinator for GoodLife Innovations, which provides residential and home care services for people with disabilities.
āDuring my childhood, growing up, my parents taught me to appreciate life and always support your children,ā he said. āInitially, I didnāt like the sport, but I have no choice but to support him.ā
āIām a criminologist ā I study crimes for a living. If you say you want him to be a (pro) cornerback, so be it,ā said Kofi.
Ekow earned his social studies degree last spring, but he said heād like to get a shot at playing in the NFL.
āIāve also had dreams and aspirations of working in the real estate business,ā he said.
āA mind-boggling thingā
One other thing thatās changed is Kofiās allegianceāfrom KUās crimson and blue to K-Stateās royal purple.
āI bleed purple,ā he said.
KU did offer a football scholarship to his son, but only after the Wildcats had already done so. By then it was too late.
āItās still a mind-boggling thing,ā said Kofi, looking back on KUās whiff.
The Jayhawksā loss back then was K-Stateās gain, and it has helped the Wildcats reach their first conference title game since 2003 ā a pretty significant year for the Boye-Doe family, too.