NOTE: Kansas State has elected to advance players’ classification even though the 2020 season did not affect eligibility. Those who wish to take advantage of this extra year will be listed as a (“super”) senior again after their original eligibility would have been exhausted.

#25 Ekow Boye-Doe

Redshirt Senior | 6-0 | 171 lbs. | Lawrence, Kansas

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Cornerback
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Starter
• Status: On Scholarship

Ekow Boye-Doe (b. Nov. 4, 1999) is a highly touted defensive back who was born in Ghana, but was plucked out of the enemy stronghold an hour and 15 minutes east of Manhattan.

He obtained his undergraduate bachelor’s degree in social studies from K-State in May.

Boye-Doe is the fastest player on the K-State team, according to head coach Chris Klieman.

He redshirted in 2018 after picking K-State over offers from Kansas, Missouri State, Northern Iowa and Tulane, as well as interest from Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri and Oklahoma State.

Boye-Doe played in seven games in 2019, primarily on special teams, and made a tackle as a reserve defensive back in the season opener against Nicholls.

He broke out in a big way during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, unexpectedly starting the first eight Big 12 games at cornerback, the first starts of his then-young career.

Boye-Doe totaled 25 tackles, one tackle for loss and seven pass breakups on the year, and finished the season ranked 11th in the Big 12 Conference in passes defended.

He had five tackles in his first start in K-State’s win at No. 3 Oklahoma after not even playing in the season opener, followed by a career-high two passes defended against Texas Tech, a game that featured his first career tackle for loss and a career-high-tying five tackles.

Following that season, Boye-Doe picked up first-team Academic All-Big 12 accolades.

A 13-game starter at cornerback who was only targeted in coverage on 40 pass attempts during the 2021 season, Boye-Doe had a season-high four tackles against both Kansas and Baylor, while each game featured a tackle for loss. He also had three stops at Texas.

Boye-Doe also broke up passes at Kansas and against LSU in K-State’s Texas Bowl victory.

Now he enters 2022 looking to complement running mate Julius Brents as one of the best 1-2 punches at cornerback not just in the Big 12 conference, but possibly the entire nation (not to mention breakout social media video stars as well).

Boye-Doe prepped under head coach Dirk Wedd at Lawrence High School, where he was rated the third-best player in the state of Kansas for the Class of 2018 by 247Sports, while he was ranked No. 4 by Rivals and No. 6 by ESPN. He was listed as the 116th-best athlete in the nation for the Class of 2018 by ESPN as he also excelled at wide receiver in high school.

A first-team all-state performer as a senior by The Topeka Capital-Journal and The Wichita Eagle, Boye-Doe also was named a first-team all-league player at defensive back and picked up second-team honors as a receiver, while he was named to the All-Simone Award team.

He also participated in basketball and track for the Lions. Here’s what Ian Boyd at SportsTreatise presciently had to say about Boye-Doe’s potential as a cornerback:

I imagine the plan here is to translate EBD’s length and speed into a cornerback down the line. He looks a bit more comfortable on offense on his highlights, but he can turn and run some and he makes a few open-field tackles. Right now, he’s mostly just a raw skill athlete with good speed and a nice frame, so we may have to wait and see what they make of him.