How Dallas Cowboys Undrafted Rookie Shiyazh Pete United the Navajo Nation at Phoenix

Shiyazh Tastohyinyta Pete remains a long shot to make the Dallas Cowboys roster when final cuts are made on Aug. 30. But whether his NFL career spans only another week or a decade, he won’t forget Saturday night at State Farm Stadium at Glendale outside Phoenix.The undrafted rookie lineman is the first ever from the Navajo Nation to sign an NFL contract and was cheered on by a legion of fans thrilled by his six snaps in the Cowboys 34-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals.“Phoenix is home to a lot of Native American tribes, obviously we got to see that,” Mr. Pete said after the game. “It was incredible.”Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer, impressed by the crowd that showed up to celebrate the 6-foot-9, 309-pound tackle, allowed him to deliver the post-game speech to the team. “I am very fortunate to be amongst you and to play in the same field, wear the same star holding on our chest,” he said. “I’m proud of us, proud of how far we’ve come. Fate brought us here as strangers, but this game, this star, this team will make us brothers.”The Cowboys locker room erupted in cheers, a scene that would not have happened if his college coaches had let him quit football as a freshman. Mr. Pete grew up in Montana and began playing football in seventh grade before moving to the Navajo Reservation in Apache County, Arizona. He transferred to Shiprock High School in New Mexico for his senior year, but received no scholarship offers.When he inquired about being a walk-on at New Mexico State University ahead of the 2022 season, he questioned whether he wanted to continue playing football. Tony Sanchez, the Aggies current head coach, was an assistant under Jerry Kill at the time and remembers the coaching staff encouraging Mr. Pete to stick it out. “He wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue playing,” Mr. Sanchez told The New York Sun. “I remember Coach Kill continually telling him, let’s stick this thing out. You’ll have a chance to be a pretty good player.”Mr. Pete became the Aggies left tackle in 2022, protecting the blind side of Diego Pavia, who would later star at Vanderbilt and finish second in the 2026 Heisman voting to Fernando Mendoza.A preseason Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award candidate ahead of an injury-plagued 2024 season, Mr. Pete played well enough over the final six games to attract an offer to finish his collegiate career in the Southeastern Conference at Kentucky where he started all 12 games at left tackle.“He’s one of those random guys,” Mr. Sanchez said. “Nobody recruited him out of high school. But he has a tremendous amount of competitiveness within him. It took him a while to literally let his hair down and bring that warrior spirit out, but he has the fire in him and that was a big difference.”Mr. Pete, 23, acknowledged the standing ovation he received during the game at Phoenix by slapping hands with many of the fans after the game.“I just want to take a moment to thank the fans, and the people who showed up to support me, celebrate my name and wear my jersey,” he told reporters. “I lost count of how many Navajo Nation flags I saw. I saw a Salish National flag as well, which was awesome.”Mr. Schottenheimer said Mr. Pete has done all the right things since joining the Cowboys. “Maybe one of the hardest workers I’ve been around,” he said. “Maximized all of his opportunities. Everyone loves him because he’s the way he is today. And like I said, when he broke it down, I mean the room went crazy just because he spoke from the heart and he talked about how this family has brought us all together and now we’re bonded for life.”Mr. Schottenheimer offered no hint of Mr. Pete’s chances of making the squad. “He’s doing a good job for us,” the coach said. “Had to move into guard and (is) doing things he hasn’t done, but he’s another guy that fits that play style we’re talking about. It was really cool to see him have that moment, but also our players join in and help to celebrate him.”Mr. Pete isn’t the only sports figure in Navajo Nation being applauded. Golf analyst and PGA Tour winner Notah Begay III was voted the prestigious Payne Stewart Award that honors character, sportsmanship, and charity commitments.The Albuquerque, New Mexico, native, who was a three-time All-America at Stanford, founded the Notah Begay III Foundation in 2005 to use golf to impact health, education, and leadership in urban Native communities.Mr. Begay will be honored on Tuesday at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The award was created after the death of Payne Stewart in a plane crash in October 1999, the same year he won the U.S. Open.“To be associated with his legacy is truly special,” Mr. Begay said. “Golf has given me a platform to serve, and I’ve always believed it’s our responsibility to use that platform to uplift others, especially the next generation.”

How Dallas Cowboys Undrafted Rookie Shiyazh Pete United the Navajo Nation at Phoenix

How Dallas Cowboys Undrafted Rookie Shiyazh Pete United the Navajo Nation at Phoenix

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