Standing at 6-feet-9 and weighing 309 pounds, Dallas Cowboys rookie offensive star Shiyazh Pete is impossible to miss on the field.
In the world of professional football, where mega contracts and superstar quarterbacks dominate the headlines, an undrafted rookie offensive lineman has become the most compelling story of the 2026 NFL preseason.
But it is not just his imposing stature that has captured the nation’s attention. Pete made history as the first member of the Navajo Nation to sign an NFL contract and play in an NFL game.
When thousands of Navajo citizens packed State Farm Stadium in Arizona to witness his preseason debut, when their President showed up to cheer him on, and when he delivered a locker room speech that moved teammates, coaches, and rival fans alike, Pete transcended the game itself. This is the story of how a walk-on from the reservation became a symbol of hope, courage, and possibility for an entire nation.
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Early life and upbringing of Navajo Nation’s star Shiyazh Pete
Shiyazh Tastohyinya Pete was born on May 25, 2003, in Ronan, Montana. He is a full blooded Native American of Navajo and Salish heritage.
Pete is the son of Natani Pete, a captain in the United States Army, and Geraldine Pete. He has three siblings: Naomi Begay Kayonnie, Hastiin Pete, and April Hicks. Pete graduated from New Mexico State in May 2025 with a degree in communication studies.
Pete is a proud member of the Navajo Nation, and he wears his heritage openly. He wears his hair in a traditional braid. He can speak basic Navajo and also knows basic American Sign Language. His favorite foods include roast mutton and fry bread, and his favorite family recipe to make is blue corn mush.
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Beyond football, Pete has a wide range of interests. He enjoys playing chess, reading history, hiking, and flying drones. He can also play the didgeridoo. In a candid interview, he revealed a fascination with Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he cited as inspiration for his final college season.
His father, Natani, is a captain in the United States Army and is of the Salish and Navajo society, while his mother, Geraldine Pete, is full blooded Navajo. Growing up, Pete lived on Navajo reservations in both Montana and Arizona. His family later lived in Colorado before moving to Arizona.
From a young age, Pete displayed remarkable athletic versatility. He played multiple sports, including basketball, wrestling, track and field, and cross country. Remarkably, at just nine years old, he became a state champion in judo.
Pete also developed a love for chess, hiking, reading history, and flying drones. He describes himself as a self proclaimed nerd who devours new topics, often inspired by movies he watches. One of his more unusual talents is solving a Rubik’s Cube in under one minute.
Pete attended Shiprock High School in New Mexico, where he was a two way player on both the offensive and defensive lines. As a senior, he earned first team All District honors on defense and second team selection on offense.
He also made the honor roll and received a pair of leadership awards. However, his senior season in 2020 was limited to just five games due to COVID 19 restrictions. Despite his talent, Pete was not heavily recruited out of high school and had to walk on at New Mexico State University.
Pete’s college journey: From walk-on to star
Pete’s college football journey is a testament to perseverance. He arrived at New Mexico State as an unheralded walk-on, a freshman who felt somewhat lost and neglected, as many college freshmen do.
He did not play a single snap in an actual game during his first year and was limited to the practice squad. He was not on scholarship and had to pay for his education out of pocket. The Aggies finished that season with a dismal 2-10 record.
Everything changed when Jerry Kill was hired as head coach. Kill brought in a new coaching staff, including offensive line coach Andrew Mitchell, who helped Pete refine his technique. The new staff put Pete on a full scholarship. Pete also changed his major from Computer Science to Communications to better accommodate the team’s practice schedule.
Pete began earning playing time in 2022. When the starter at left tackle sustained an injury, Pete replaced him for a game against Big Ten power Wisconsin in September 2022. From that point on, he secured a starting position for the remaining nine games and helped the Aggies finish with a 7-6 record and a victory in the Quick Lane Bowl.
In 2023, Pete started all 15 games at left tackle as the Aggies achieved a stunning 10-5 record, the program’s first double digit win season since 1960. The team reached the Conference USA Championship Game and earned a berth in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl.
Pete earned First Team All Conference USA honors for his dominant play. That season also featured one of the most famous victories in NMSU history: a 34-10 shellacking of SEC powerhouse Auburn at Jordan Hare Stadium. Pete later recalled the experience as “out of this world” and “absolutely phenomenal”.
In 2024, Pete missed the first six games due to injury but started the final six games at left tackle. He allowed just five quarterback pressures on 193 pass blocking plays and was named to the Outland Trophy Watch List and the Lombardi Award Watch List. He served as the Aggies’ blindside protector on an offensive line that led the nation in sacks allowed per game at just 0.42.
The Kentucky year
After four seasons at New Mexico State, Pete transferred to the University of Kentucky for his final college season in 2025. He chose Kentucky over Nebraska, Michigan, Vanderbilt, and others. When asked about his decision, Pete said, “I figured I’d go where I’m needed most and from what Coach Wolf says, he’ll help get me to the NFL”. He added, “I’m ready to get to work. I’m ready to roll”.
At Kentucky, Pete started all 12 games at left tackle. He was named one of four game captains at South Carolina. He graded out at 98 percent on assignments and 76 percent technique, recording a team high 35 knockdowns and 100 blocks at the point of attack. Over his entire college career, Pete played in 45 total games (33 at New Mexico State and 12 at Kentucky) with 42 starts (30 at NMSU and 12 at UK).
Shiyazh Pete’s NFL journey: Going undrafted and signing with the Cowboys
Despite his impressive college resume, Pete went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft. He was projected as a Round 3 to 5 pick with a high ceiling, praised for his rare length and frame but still developing his pad level and hand timing.
However, the Dallas Cowboys reached out shortly after the draft and offered him an undrafted free agent contract. Pete signed a three year, $3,103,000 contract with the Cowboys, including a $3,000 signing bonus. His average annual salary is $1,034,333, with a 2026 cap hit of $886,000. When Pete signed, he became the first member of the Navajo Nation to sign an NFL contract.
Making history on the field
On August 15, 2026, Pete made his NFL preseason debut against the Seattle Seahawks. But it was the following week that would become legendary.
When the Cowboys faced the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale on August 22, thousands of members of the Navajo Nation made the short trip to the stadium to support Pete. More than 140,000 members of the Navajo Nation live in Arizona.
They came wearing his jersey, waving Navajo Nation flags, and cheering with a fervor typically reserved for star players. Among them was the Navajo Nation President, Buu Nygren.
Pete entered the game in the fourth quarter and played just six snaps. Yet in those six plays, he helped lead the Cowboys to a fourth quarter touchdown. When he returned to the bench, he looked up to see an entire section of the stadium giving him a standing ovation.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who has spent 25 years in the NFL, later told the team: “I saw something tonight I’ve never seen before. An entire section cheering for one man”.
The Speech that went viral
After the Cowboys’ 34-13 victory, Schottenheimer called on Pete to address the team in the locker room. Pete delivered a 59 word speech that has since gone viral across social media.
“That was an incredible win,” Pete said. “I am very fortunate to be amongst you and to play on the same field, wear the same star on our chest. I’m proud of us, proud of how far we’ve come. Fate brought us here as strangers, but this star, this team, will make us brothers”.
The Athletic described it as “one of the indelible moments of the preseason” that “succinctly distilled one of sport’s oldest psychological ideals about shared identity and shared sacrifice”. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham posted on Facebook: “What a moment for New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. For young Native kids across New Mexico, seeing someone who shares their heritage step onto an NFL field shows them what is possible”.
When asked later what he saw when he looked up at the crowd, Pete said: “I saw hope, courage. Hope and courage. It’s definitely etched in the history books. It was incredible. I’m trying to find the words of how special and impactful that really was”.
He struggled to find the English words to describe the moment and instead used the Navajo word “hózhó,” which loosely means peace, harmony, and balance. He also said something in Navajo that he later explained: “Folks back home, folks upstairs in our stadium, will know”.
What next for Shiyazh?
As of late August 2026, Pete is still fighting for a spot on the Cowboys’ final 53 man roster, which will be announced on August 30. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer has already seen Pete’s character up close.
He recalled that during an offseason ride to the airport, his driver told him about an interaction with Pete: “He said, ‘Man, I drove one of your players, and he was the most incredible human being I’ve ever been around.’ He was talking about Pete”.
Regardless of whether Pete makes the final roster, he has already achieved something far greater than any football statistic could measure. He has become the face of the Navajo Nation in the NFL, inspiring a new generation of Native American athletes to dream bigger.
Shiyazh Pete’s journey from a walk-on who felt lost to a history-making NFL player is a reminder that sports can be about so much more than wins and losses. It is about hope, courage, and the power of representation. As Pete himself said, “The fact that I am able to participate on the field and conduct my play to the best of my ability and fans support me for that, for who I am, it’s incredible”.
