RI's Paye's Amazing Story Continues - Selected in 1st Round of NFL Draft

RI's Paye's Amazing Story Continues - Selected in 1st Round of NFL Draft

Bishop Hendricken graduate and Michigan edge rusher Kwity Paye was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the 21st pick in the first round of Thursday night's NFL draft.

Paye was featured by ESPN this past week for his amazing story — one that took him from a global exodus, to Rhode Island, and now the NFL. 

He was born in a refugee camp in Guinea. His family was escaping war in Liberia.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

From the refugee camp he traveled with his family in Providence on the Southside.

ESPN wrote: “The first time Kwity understood that he was different, and that his family was different, he was 8 years old. Before he'd become a Big Ten standout, before he'd headline as the premier defensive end in the 2021 NFL draft, he was a kid in Rhode Island trying to sign up for Junior Pee Wee football.

They told him he'd need to provide his birth certificate for identification. He didn't have one of those, his mother said, so Agnes gave him his green card instead.

"I thought everyone had to have that type of card to verify their age," Kwity says. "So once I went there to the field, everyone was asking, 'What's that? Why do you have that? Where's your birth certificate?' And I was like, 'This is it.'"

Their green cards were funny-looking things, Kwity's older brother, Komotay Koffie, thought. A touch sinister, with their faces gazing straight into the camera, and an indecipherable code of numbers running along one side.

After a standout career at Hendricken, he headed to Michigan and the rest is history.

Now, in the next few weeks, Paye sign a multimillion dollar contract to play in the NFL — a long way from a refugee camp.