Sometimes “Fate” is the most compelling ghost writer.

It has been apparent in defensive lineman Azia Se‘ei’s story line from an uncertain future to being a senior leader of the Hawaii football team.

Se‘ei’s life, UH defensive line coach Ricky Logo noted, is “really a storybook in itself.”

It was two years ago when Se‘ei struggled for direction after leaving William Penn, an NAIA school in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Then Kenny Patton, an athletic-performance trainer, invited Se‘ei to help at a charity clinic at Radford High. Patton had known Se‘ei for several years. Se‘ei attended Radford — Patton’s alma mater — for two years before finishing high school in Utah. After leaving William Penn, Se‘ei often trained at Radford.

Patton, a former UH cornerback, also asked several former teammates to assist in the clinic, which raised money to alleviate medical expenses for a boy suffering from leukemia. One of the volunteers was UH head coach Nick Rolovich.

Se‘ei said Patton and his uncle, Vernon Salanoa, “were barking in (Rolovich’s) ear” about his interest in joining the Rainbow Warriors.

Later, Se‘ei joined the Warriors as a walk-on in July 2017.

As a redshirt that season, Se‘ei went against the No. 1 offense every practice as a member of the scout team.

“I was doing my part as a teammate,” Se‘ei said. “I was on scout team. It takes everybody to win. I just embraced my role, and ended up getting my foot in the door.”

Se‘ei is optimistically listed at 5 feet 11 and 275 pounds. In some drills, Se‘ei had to play “Red Rover” against double blocks totaling 650 pounds. Undaunted, Se‘ei theorized that he compensated with leverage to slide beneath the blocks. “I’m shorter than them,” he said. “I feel it makes it harder for them.”

Se‘ei’s performances in practice and the weight room caught the coaches’ attention. “This kid comes in to work every day,” Logo said. “He has proven himself day in and day out.”

In 2018, Se‘ei played in nine of the 14 games. This past spring, Se‘ei began to ascend the depth chart, logging more snaps at nose tackle.

“I tied to take advantage of the reps I was getting,” he said.

In April, he was awarded a football scholarship. It came just as the tuition money from the G.I. Bill — a benefit from his father’s service in the Navy — was set to expire.

This summer, Se‘ei topped UH’s defensive players with a 635-pound back squat. He was among the leaders during the player-run practices. In training camp, he has taken many of the reps with the first-team defense.

Last week, teammates voted Se‘ei as one of the four team captains.

Of his UH career, Se‘ei thanked the coaches for “taking a shot on me. And here I am. I appreciate Rolo and all the people who got me here.”

Patton described Se‘ei’s path as “your typical walk-on story of someone who really wanted it bad. He wanted to do his family proud. He’s a relentless worker. He loves weight training. He loves the challenge. He’s always been the smaller guy playing the position, and he’s had a chip on his shoulder. He kept working. He was really motivated. … He busted his ass.”