UTEP coach Justin Garrett gifts Roger Staubach one-of-a-kind Miners shirt
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Thanks to a shirt, some coffee and a class act, one of the best to ever don the Dallas Cowboys jersey, will be rooting for the Miners this season.
Earlier this year, head coach Dana Dimel and Justin Garrett, a former UTEP wide receiver and the current director of player personnel attended the third annual LiveLikeLuke coffee fundraiser in Dallas.
The event was held in honor of former UTEP tight end Luke Laufenberg who died on Aug. 22nd, 2019 after a more than two-year long battle with a rare form of Leukemia. It also raises money for the LiveLikeLuke foundation with all money donated going straight into the UTEP football program in the form of a nutrition station for players.
Dimel and Garrett wore matching UTEP polo shirts, with the name Luke embroidered on the left sleeve, to the event.
But Garrett didn't leave with his shirt.
"JG wears his shirt so tight that I thought he might have busted out the seems of it, that was my first thought," Dimel said. "In all seriousness, I didn't know what to think until we found out the rest of the story."
At the event, Dallas Cowboys legendary quarterback Roger Staubach complimented Garrett on his shirt and asked him where he could get one.
"I was like man this is Roger Staubach, I might as well just take this shirt off and give it to him," Garrett said. "I went to the car and changed my shirt and I came back and gave it to Mr. Staubach and said the shirt is brand new. I just had got it the day before actually and I said here is the shirt you can have it."
The shirt Garrett gave Staubach is one of three in existence with the name Luke embroidered on it.
"Roger Staubach has one, Dana Dimel and Babe Laufenberg, so it's a very special shirt," Garrett said. "Just to say I gave Roger Staubach the shirt off my back is quite amazing I would say."
But to Babe Laufenberg, the father of Luke, it's the least bit surprising.
Every year since the passing of Luke, one Miner has worn Luke's No. 2 jersey. In 2020 and 2021 that honor went to Garrett. He took it one step further and put the Laufenberg name on the jersey too.
"When I saw Laufenberg, 2, I literally broke down crying," Babe said. "Justin Garrett will always have a friend in Babe Laufenberg and now Roger Staubach."
Come this Saturday's game against Jacksonville State, Dimel and Garrett will be on the sidelines, quarterback Gavin Hardison will wear the Laufenberg jersey and Staubach, well he'll be wearing his one-of-a-kind shirt - all of them keeping Luke's legacy alive four years after he passed away.
