Kentucky OL Shiyazh Pete's interview with KSR will instantly turn you into a fan

KSR’s Nick Roush wasn’t lying when he called Shiyazh Pete “the most interesting man in the SEC“.

Pete comes to the Kentucky football program after four seasons as a left tackle at New Mexico State. Clocking in at an astounding 6-foot-8, 324 pounds, you won’t find many athletes in the entire country with those measurements. After redshirting his true freshman season in 2021, he went on to start 30 out of 33 games played for New Mexico State. Pete was named First Team All-CUSA in 2023 and was on the Outland Trophy Watch List going into 2024.

But his on-field skills and accomplishments are only half of what makes him so interesting. Pete was born in Montana to a military family, which eventually led him to the Fort Carson base in Colorado and later to life with the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. He can speak basic Navajo and even knows some American Sign Language. Could you imagine someone his size running cross country in high school? Well, he did it. He can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute.

History is something Pete is highly interested in, too. “It helps me determine the future,” he said during an interview with the KSR Radio Show on Friday. “But it gets confusing, so I try my best to stay in the present.” He’s been reading about Napoleon and ancient battles that happened in the Middle East. Coming from a military family, he’s interested in how other leaders have navigated tough waters.

“I always remain curious about people, opinions, life, events,” Pete said. “It helps me.”

Shiyazh Pete is MASSIVE and might be the new fan favorite on this UK football team.

Shiyazh Pete talks embracing every moment of being a Kentucky Wildcat. pic.twitter.com/sKAnQsqtmh

— Mario A Maitland (@MarioMaitland_3) August 1, 2025

Football is what he enjoys the most, though. Pete elected to spend his final year of college eligibility at Kentucky for the SEC competition with goals of making it to the next level. Being in this situation is still a bit surreal for him.

“If I were to tell myself at a younger age that I’m doing this, I don’t think I would believe myself,” he said. “It’s incredibly fulfilling. I’m extremely grateful, and I’m cherishing each and every single day, every interaction I have.”

Playing in the SEC isn’t something he’s totally unfamiliar with, either. Pete and New Mexico State — featuring QB Diego Pavia, who is now at Vanderbilt and on Kentucky’s 2025 schedule — marched into Auburn (another team on UK’s upcoming schedule) during the 2023 season and came away with a 31-10 victory.

“It felt so good to be an Aggie that day, to wear crimson, to have our entire team rally together and just stare down our opponent like that,” Pete said. “It was one of the first SEC games I’ve really been a part of. The fireworks, the roar of the crowd, it was captivating, but we were so focused on our objective.”

Now a Wildcat, that type of atmosphere will be commonplace on a week-to-week basis — whether that’s in Lexington or on the road against a ranked SEC opponent. Expectations for the team as a whole aren’t too high compared to previous years, but Pete is expected to hold down Kentucky’s improved offensive line in 2025, a position room that saw plenty of much-needed roster turnover after a poor season in 2024.

“Jager (Burton) has done a good job getting us together, keeping our objective the objective,” Pete said. “We got a lot of new guys, inexperienced ones, and we also have a bunch of experienced guys. We’re beasts of no nations.”

Don’t worry, the Beasts of No Nations t-shirts are already being printed.