From offensive lineman and leader to avid fisherman and entrepreneur, Kobe Sixkiller can do it all

This season has been another breakout year for Southeast Missouri State offensive lineman Kobe Sixkiller.

The 6-foot-1, 300-pound senior has 30 career starts and counting and is proving to be a rock-solid force in the heart of a Redhawks offensive line that has only surrendered 11 sacks all season.

For a banged-up unit that recently lost its three-time all-conference center Zack Gieg, Sixkiller’s midseason transition from guard to center, along with his veteran presence and leadership, has been vital for a young offensive line that is now starting two true freshmen guards.

“Mr. Reliable,” senior quarterback Paxton DeLaurent said. “He's a film junkie. He loves football and he wants to coach someday. Center and guard are pretty similar in a way, so it was a good transition for him.”

The role of being a dependable figure is something Sixkiller has had instilled in him for as long as he can remember, which explains why he’s become such a leader within the Redhawks locker room.

“The thing you appreciate is his leadership,” head coach Tom Matukewicz said. “What he says to them before, during and after the plays and getting everybody, even on the sideline, through the week is like having a GA (graduate assistant) out there. He does a great job with those young kids.”

For most weeks of most months, Sixkiller is occupied as a reliable offensive lineman and one of the centerpieces of the now 7-1 SEMO Redhawks.

But when he’s not pancaking opposing defenders and protecting his star quarterback, the Jay, Oklahoma, native most likely is following his other passion: fishing and spending time in the great outdoors.

“My dad's more of an outdoorsman,” Sixkiller said. “He loves to hunt more than fish, which is fine. I thoroughly enjoy hunting, too. But I was always drawn to the water. I love just boating, in general, but also tubing, fishing and just being on the water.

“In my area in northeast Oklahoma, we have Grand Lake, which is, for Missouri people, similar to Lake of the Ozarks and what they know and love. There’s four different lakes within 35 minutes of my house.”

Sixkiller, who also is a mix of Cherokee and Seneca-Cayuga Native American tribal descent, said his love for fishing fully blossomed about four years ago when he and his hometown friends would spend countless hours fishing on their local waters.

“I remember in the spring and summer during COVID when me and my buddies went seven days in a row, and we would set catfish jugs in the morning,” Sixkiller said. “We would go fish all day and go pick them up at night. And for those seven days, really just in my heart, I felt like this is something I love to do. It's relaxing. You’re just away from the world and it's quiet.”

During that same summer, Sixkiller and his best friend, Rhett Arnold, who also tagged along with him on their summer fishing adventures, turned their hobby into a side business, Native Lures, back in Oklahoma.

“We were really big into YouTube fishing, which is kind of funny, but it definitely grew during COVID,” Sixkiller said. “So, we watched a lot of that and what people were doing and what certain businesses were compiling up. Then I'm like, ‘You know, Rhett, this isn't that hard, and it's gonna help us out.’ So, just the idea of creating a business and just having another hobby and doing something new while we were in COVID is what motivated us.”

Even though Sixkiller and Arnold are eight hours apart because of college and caught up in busy life schedules, the two still have Native Lures products available for sale at a local shop in their hometown.

When asked how fishing translates to the gridiron, Sixkiller said it’s helped develop his patience and persistence — traits that serve him well at the line of scrimmage.

“Things don't always go as planned,” Sixkiller said. “When you're out on the water, there's a certain cast or certain areas that you're just banking on catching a fish or whatever. In football, certain plays should work, and you’ve got to be able to adjust on the fly. There’s times where games aren't as clean as you think and conditions aren't as good as you think. But if you’ve got a fishing tournament, you’ve got a fishing tournament. If you’ve got a game, you’ve got a game. So, even when things aren't ideal, they’re about fighting through that perseverance and coming out on top.”

The same is true for patiently waiting for an opportunity at the college level, which is something Sixkiller had to deal with before he arrived at SEMO.

As a true freshman in 2021, Sixkiller spent his first year of college ball at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, where he earned all-conference honors at the junior college level.

“I think it instilled a lot of grit,” Sixkiller said of his time at NEO. “I lived in a terrible dorm, but me and my teammates lived together, so we grew that bond. I learned early not to complain and to just work.”

Matukewicz said he recalls Sixkiller as “one of the first guys that we have beat an FBS team on recruiting.”

“He actually visited us and New Mexico State, and those were the two choices he had. And he chose here because of the other O-line and kind of that family atmosphere that he felt here. So, he's a great fit here. He's going to be a football coach and am going to try to hire him after the season. Kobe’s got a great mentality, great mindset. Just a really good dude.”

Eight games into his senior season, Sixkiller is focusing these days on the game he loves and lives for. But away from football, casting his line into the river is where he feels most at peace.

“Fishing is kind of like football,” Sixkiller said. “You’ve got to use strategy. You’ve got to see what's not there and see things that people don't see. That leads to success.”