LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Long before he was the Canadian Football League's top offensive line draft prospect, Sage Doxtater was a class clown.
 
A lanky and big-bodied tenth grader at Canada Prep Academy in St. Catharines, Ontario, he was known as the jokester. His sense of humor made him stand out among his classmates at the all-boys boarding school.
 
Doxtater was still fairly new to football at that point. Coming from Onieda Nation, formally known as Oneida 41, in southwestern Ontario, he wasn't exposed to the game at an early age.
 
His friends played lacrosse, a sport with deep roots in Native American culture, and wanted him to do the same. With his big frame, he would've been a goalie. He never got into it, though.
 
Little did he know the game of football would be where his future lies.
 
It's a sport he didn't know existed until he was in eighth grade. It's a sport that brought him to NM State. It's a sport that has him on the cusp of playing at the highest professional level.
 
It's a sport that has allowed him to inspire the next generation from back home.
 
Focusing on football
Doxtater got his start on the defensive side of the ball.
 
"Every kid wants to play on the defensive line," Geoff McArthur, Doxtater's head coach at Canada Prep, said with a laugh. "If you're going to be a lineman, you'd rather play defense because the offensive line doesn't get any love, especially at a young age."
 
It was no different for Doxtater. He wanted to play defense. His time at defensive end and linebacker, however, was short-lived.
 
"It was very clear that he wasn't a defensive player," McArthur said. "It just didn't click for him. Offensively, he had so much more potential."
 
Instead of wearing him out on both sides of the ball, McArthur made the decision to put him on the offensive line and leave him there. From tenth grade on, Doxtater lined up at tackle.
 
"I wasn't happy about it at first," Doxtater said. "I trusted him, so I put in the work."
 
That trust was well founded.
 
McArthur is one of the top wide receivers in Cal history. He ranks as the Golden Bears' all-time leader in receiving yards (3,188), sharing the all-time lead in 100-yard receiving games with 11. His 202 career receptions rank second in program history, and his 20 touchdown catches are seventh most at Cal.
 
Inducted into the California Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, McArthur was named an All-American as a junior in 2003 after hauling in 85 passes for a single-season program-best 1,504 receiving yards.
 
"The accolades definitely gave credibility for him to trust me and put faith in me," McArthur said. "In Canada, there's not a lot of people with that background in football who are coaches."
 
McArthur's guidance on the field – and off it – was exactly what Doxtater needed.
 
"I think of him like a father figure," Doxtater said. "He really helped set me straight."
 
Growing up
Doxtater and his two brothers, Tanner and Mika, were raised in a single-parent household by their mother, Rhonda. He left home to attend Canada Prep, which is located approximately two hours east of where he grew up.
 
"When I met Sage, he was probably 15 or 16 years old," McArthur said. "A young buck. He was really trying to find himself as a young man. I think those are some really important years in your life when you're developing and trying to figure yourself out."
 
McArthur, himself, could relate. Raised by his mother in inner city Los Angeles, he didn't have a father figure to look up to. Their similar upbringings led to an immediate and deeper connection. Doxtater had landed at the perfect spot during an impressionable period of his life.
 
"We just clicked and bonded based on me allowing him to open up and be himself," McArthur said. "We were able to talk about things he might not have been able to talk about at home."
 
For Doxtater, the self-admitted class clown, strong leadership would help him navigate through high school and his teenage years. McArthur recognized that early on and
 
"When you go to a prep school, you're away from home and living with a bunch of guys," McArthur said. "It's easy to confuse who you're supposed to be impressing.
 
"I just had to break him down one day. I think I was really able to hit home that I'm putting my word on you, so we've got to work together on this. It's not a one-way street."
 
It was ultimately McArthur's mentorship and trust that put Doxtater on the path to success.
 
"He was a great influence," Doxtater said. "He set me straight and got me focused."
 
A late bloomer
Raw. Blank canvas. Big upside. Full of potential.
 
All were terms used to describe Doxtater as a high-school offensive lineman. Everyone agreed on one thing, though. He had the ability to play at the next level.
 
There was no shortage of interest from Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs. Per 247 Sports, numerous Power Five schools, including Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia, had their eyes on Doxtater.
 
"He had quick feet and was long as hell," McArthur said. "Once he was able to put some people in the dirt, he was going to get offers."
 
When Doxtater's senior year rolled around, he did exactly that. He picked up offers from a few FCS programs, but NM State swooped in before more schools could pull the trigger.
 
A strong recommendation from McArthur helped.
 
"I told them they were getting a kid who had so much potential," McArthur said. "He was so raw, they'd be able to develop him because all he had was upside and room to grow."
 
A long way from home
Leaving home was nothing new to Doxtater. He left home to attend Canada Prep, and if he wanted to play collegiate football at the highest level, he'd have to do it again.
 
Surrounded by high-quality talent in high school, he saw a handful of his peers go on to play college football at the FBS level. Teammate Neville Gallimore played at Oklahoma before being selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 NFL Draft.
 
Doxtater committed to NM State on National Signing Day in the spring of 2016. He was officially an Aggie.
 
"I'd never been to New Mexico in my life, but it looked super beautiful to me," he said. "I loved the coaching staff, too."
 
Since stepping foot on campus, Doxtater has been a key member of the Aggies' offensive line. As a freshman in 2016, Doxtater started at left tackle in all nine games he played in and was named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Newcomer Team.
 
He played in 12 games with 11 starts as a sophomore during the historic 2017 campaign. He earned the starting nod at left tackle in the Arizona Bowl, helping the Aggies snap their 57-year bowl drought.



Doxtater started all 12 games as a junior in 2018. By then, his play had caught the attention of scouts at the next level. The former wannabe defensive lineman entered the 2019 season as the CFL's No. 4 ranked draft prospect overall, as well as its top offensive line prospect.
 
A strong senior year in 2019 would affirm his position atop the rankings and solidify his spot as a top-five CFL Draft selection. His name could begin floating around NFL circles, too.
 
That was until an injury derailed his season.
 
The journey back
A shoulder injury sidelined Doxtater for the majority of the 2019 campaign. It was an injury that lingered and had him questioning his future on the gridiron.
 
"It was scary," Doxtater said. "There was a month and a half where I couldn't move or lift my arm in any direction. I was worried if it was ever going to go away."
 
Unable to play, he found himself far away from the field. With his activities limited to the training room, he didn't back down and set out on the road to recovery.
 
"I trusted the trainers and worked with them every day to get better," Doxtater said.
 
Thanks to the NCAA's new eligibility rule, he could participate in up to four games and still qualify for a redshirt season. That was all the motivation he needed.
 
"It was a second chance," Doxtater said. "I didn't know how the injury was going to heal, but, as it started to get better, I realized I was going to be able come back and play."
 
He made his season debut at Georgia Southern on Oct. 26 before starting at left tackle in each of the final three games of the year. Doxtater's impact was felt immediately, as the Aggies earned back-to-back wins over UIW on Nov. 16 and UTEP on Nov. 23 in his first two starts of the campaign.
 
He could've left NM State for the CFL after the season. Despite the injury, he likely would've still been selected in the draft and had the opportunity to go pro.
 
Doxtater, however, was aiming higher – for himself and for the Aggies. He aspires to play in the NFL, but he's more determined to bring NM State back to a bowl game.
 
"I want to end my college career on a good note," Doxtater said.
 
What the future holds
Few might be happier about the return of Doxtater than NM State offensive line coach Cory White.
 
White, who spent the previous two seasons on the offensive coaching staff at FCS powerhouse San Diego, inherits a line that was ravaged by injuries a year ago. Describing Doxtater as a "dominant force," White is excited to get him back on the field.
 
"Sage was around all of last year even with the injury, but leading from the sidelines and leading from the field are two different things," White said. "Having him out there in the huddle to communicate during the game and in between snaps is a big difference."
 
With nearly 20 years of college football coaching experience under his belt, White has seen talent every step of the way. While serving as Humboldt State's offensive line coach, he mentored four-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year Alex Cappa, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2018 NFL Draft.
 
Needless to say, White knows a thing or two about what it takes to play at the highest level. He has high praise for Doxtater and is optimistic for what his future has in store.
 
"Not only does he have the measurables you want – the height and the weight and the strength to back that up, he's got a good sense of quickness," White said. "He's very sharp, and the cerebral part of the game is really easy for him. That's such a big part of playing at the next level."
 
McArthur has had Doxtater's back since the very beginning. Whether it's the CFL or NFL, he knows the one-time class clown has what it takes to play at the next level.
 
His predictions haven't been wrong yet.
 
"I've always believed in him," McArthur said. "He was a late bloomer in high school, and that could be the case again where he jumps out, has a big final year and really sets himself up to play at the next level. That kid's special."
 
The second chance
An extra year of football means many things to Doxtater.
 
It's a second chance to continue playing the sport he loves. It's a second chance to help the Aggies win another bowl game. It's a second chance to stake his claim as a top CFL Draft prospect. It's a second chance to add more game film and build his case for the NFL.
 
More than anything, it's a second chance to fulfill promises he's made and live out the examples he's set to kids back home on the reservation.
 
"I take pride in the fact that I'm a good influence for all the other little kids from my reservation," Doxtater, who is one class away from earning his degree in sociology, said. "I'm showing them that there's more than just life on the res."
 
Back home, he likes to stop by his old elementary school – Standing Stone – when he gets the chance. He broke the cycle and wants others to know that they can do the same.
 
"I tell them, 'You can really make something of your life. There's more than dropping out of high school and selling drugs,'" Doxtater said. "That's how life is there. I try to give them hope."
 
For Doxtater, an extra year of football is a second chance to inspire the next generation.

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