Jeff Hoag sits in the place where he knew he could never be.
You ask him why he’s here, and he lets you in on a little secret. Welch Stadium is empty now, except for a lone jogger who shuffles his way along the track in an black hoodie and sweatshirt. There are no marching bands playing and no football teams in sight.
Hoag looks up at the field. He might not know what the future holds, but he will tell you exactly why he is here.
His story starts in the gold chair in which he is seated.
* * *
Hoag had made all the decisions but one.
After two years of playing football at Butler County, his options were limited. A few NAIA schools called. Southeast Oklahoma seemed interested for a few days. At 5-foot-8, he wasn’t getting the interest he wanted from Division II schools.
He decided his major was most important. So was being close to his home in Arkansas City. Emporia State would be his choice.
But it wasn’t the last one he had to make.
“I decided I was going to come to school here for the business program,” Hoag said. “Then I had to decide, am I going to play football?”
ESU was out of scholarships. Hoag was invited to walk on but wasn’t sure the time commitment was worth it. Pride got in the way.
A lot ran through his mind in the next few months. But one image never could find its way out.
It was a vision he had of himself. He couldn’t stand the thought of watching a football game from the seats.
“I just envisioned myself sitting there,” Hoag said, nodding towards the bleachers, “watching the game on Saturday. I couldn’t do that.”
Not when he still felt he could play — and not after football had been such a big part of his life.
“What I always told my parents is that it’s like my identity,” Hoag said. “Everyone’s like, ‘What do you do? Do you go to school?’ And I say, ‘Yeah, and I play football.’
“That’s what I’ve always said.”
* * *
When the decision was made this summer, Hoag never wavered. He never took it easy either.
Though a job forced him to remain away from the team in the summer, the ESU coaches sent him a training plan to follow.
Hoag performed all the workouts, even though he had no idea where his spot was on the depth chart.
He arrived at camp in great shape, even if there weren’t great expectations.
“As frank as I can be, when he decided to come play here,” ESU coach Dave Wiemers said, “he wasn’t real high on the list.”
With camp came a whole new challenge. Hoag was learning an entirely new defense, and at first it was a bit overwhelming.
“I wasn’t confused. I was just always thinking,” Hoag said. “Once camp got over and we started focusing on gameplans, it started coming to me. That’s when I really got settled down. When I get settled down, I don’t have to think.
“From there, I just took advantage of my opportunities.”
Starting at third-string safety, he originally didn’t get many chances. Then an injury forced Aaron Stubblefield out. Hoag entered in the second half of Game One against Oklahoma Panhandle State and began to make his mark.
It would pay off in Game Two against Winona State. When an injury forced Jake Richter out, Hoag was put in at weak safety.
He played there the rest of the game.
“We didn’t think we’d need him as fast as we have,” Wiemers said. “That’s a tribute to him and really a compliment on his effort and desire to come here and play.”
Hoag (pronounced Hoyg) has taken the spot and run with it.
He contributed four tackles against Fort Hays State, then had a breakout game against Southwest Baptist last week.
He led the team with seven solo tackles, three assisted tackles, an interception and also a pass breakup.
“I’m really proud of him,” Wiemers said. “As it turned out, we really needed him.”
* * *
You ask Jeff Hoag if it would have been tough for him to give up football altogether, and he lets you in on a little secret.
Not playing would have torn him up pretty good.
“Football,” Hoag said, “has been my life.”
Thanks to his decision, it still is.
The gold chair is vacant now. Hoag has gotten up, getting himself ready to head back to the lockerroom.
He might not know what the future holds, but he does know how he got here.
And it wasn’t by sitting in the bleachers.
“I worked hard, learned what I had to learn, and it worked out,” Hoag said. “I think it worked out good for me.”