Like father, like son: Strat Shufelt to play at UTEP

RIO RANCHO — Pete Shufelt once wore the UTEP colors, prominently so. His high-profile son is going to be a Miner, too.

Cleveland High School senior inside linebacker Strat Shufelt, generally regarded as New Mexico’s top-ranked prep football prospect and considered one of the best at his position in this region of the country, announced on Jan. 22 that he would be following his father’s path and committed to play for UTEP.

“When I took my official visit there (last weekend), it was the most unreal visit I’ve ever had in my life,” Shufelt, 18, said. “The coaches are so energetic, so into you and they make you feel like a family, and they make you feel like they’ve known you for years.”

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Shufelt will officially sign his national letter of intent next month.

About seven months ago, UTEP hired a new coach, Scotty Walden. The Miners were 3-9 last season.

“It instantly felt like home and it felt like someplace where I can thrive,” Shufelt said of El Paso.

Shufelt had a number of prominent suitors. His list of Division I offers included Washington State, Colorado, Air Force, Arkansas State, UConn, Harvard, Yale, Idaho State and Sam Houston State, plus New Mexico and New Mexico State.

A few other schools were in communication with him but had not yet offered, such as Baylor and USC.

Shufelt first announced his UTEP decision on social media: “I’M HOME!” he said on his post.

The Miners’ new coaching staff had done its homework, Shufelt said, on him and his family, which was key in his choice.

“What most recruiters wouldn’t know, they knew,” he said. That included his father playing at UTEP, but this was not part of his recruiting process, Shufelt said.

“One thing coach Walden said to me specifically was, ‘It’s great that your dad played here, but we’re here for you,’ and that really stuck out to me,” he said.

Pete Shufelt was once a linebacker for the Miners, and later spent parts of five seasons in the NFL with the Giants and Chiefs.

Shufelt had a previous offer from UTEP, but that went away when the previous coaching staff was fired following last season. He reached out to the Miners’ new defensive coordinator, J.J. Clark, but didn’t think he’d hear anything back.

He did. “After the first (football) signing day (in December), he reached out to me, asked if I had signed,” Shufelt said. “I didn’t. He said, ‘I’m happy to hear that.’”

He said he had also spoken with UNM’s new coaching staff.

“This is the most fun I’ve had, and also the most stressful,” he said of the lengthy recruitment process. “Some down times, it would get really hard. This is definitely a relief, a burden off my shoulders.”

The Miners had a couple of coaches in the metro area recently to spend extensive time with Shufelt and his family. They were also watching Shufelt at Cleveland’s basketball game; Shufelt visited El Paso Friday and Saturday.

On the field, Shufelt was a force with the Storm from the first time he put on the Cleveland uniform. To that end, he achieved something extremely rare amongst players in the largest division, Class 6A — he was a first-team All-State selection in all of his four varsity seasons.

Shufelt is a frequent starter for the Storm basketball team. In the spring, he’ll no doubt be taking aim at defending his state championships in the shot put; he was third in the discus and led his track & field team with 12 points.

• Another of the state’s top players, also with a tie to Cleveland High School, West Mesa quarterback Elijah Brody, made his college decision on Jan. 22.

Brody, a former Storm quarterback and basketball standout, as well as the Journal’s overall Male Athlete of the Year for the 2022-23 school year, announced on social media that he’d be attending Eastern New Mexico. He was recruited by the Greyhounds as an athlete.

Brody departed CHS after his father, Landrick Brody, was named the varsity football coach at West Mesa prior to the 2022 season; his son opted to play for his dad.

Last season, Brody threw for more than 1,500 yards and had 17 touchdown passes. He rushed for almost 1,800 yards and another 25 scores.

• Also newly committed is another great Storm linebacker, Isaac Medrano. He announced he’s headed to Eastern New Mexico University. And a defensive back/running back, Andres Aguirre, who saw his senior season shortened by injury, will also play for the Greyhounds.