FIU safety Shamir Sterlin named to Wuerffel Trophy watch list

Skip DuPree remembers seeing Shamir Sterlin as a nine-year-old, dancing and clapping in church.

“Shamir would rock … more of a swag,” said DuPree, a pastor at Calvary Compassion Church in Fort Pierce. “But he wasn’t playing around. He was authentic.”

One decade later, Sterlin – a devout Christian -- is still the real deal, according to DuPree and many others, including the selection committee for the 2025 Wuerffel Trophy.

It was announced last week that Sterlin, a 6-2 and 210-pound safety at FIU, has made the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy, which goes to the player who best exemplifies community service, academic excellence and athletic achievement.

The award is named for Danny Wuerffel, the former Florida Gators quarterback, and the winner of the trophy -- which will be selected by a national committee combined with a fan vote -- will be announced Dec. 12 on ESPN.

Sterlin, a Miami native who was raised in Port St. Lucie, has donated his time and compassion to many programs, including Grace Way Village in Fort Pierce. As part of that program, Sterlin helps feed those less fortunate.

“We invite the homeless or just anyone who is struggling,” Sterlin said. “If you need a bite to eat, come through, and we got you.

“I have a conversation with the people who come through, and I show them that someone cares. When they feel like nobody is in their corner; I let them know that I’m in their corner.”

Sterlin does this to help others, but he gets a lot out of the exchange as well.

“It fills me up,” he said.

Sterlin also donates his time to “E.N.D. It,” which is essentially a boys’ and girls’ club in Fort Pierce.

“We feed the kids, play games, teach them about God, and we have them put on a theatre-type show every semester,” Sterlin said. “It gives kids a place where they can feel like themselves.”

In Miami, Sterlin has worked with a charity called “Pick Up For Cancer.” This organization cleans parks by picking up trash and beautifying spaces. The aluminum cans they collect are exchanged for money that is donated to cancer-research funds.

“We do pick-ups on Saturdays,” Sterlin said. “But if I can’t make it because of football, I do solo missions during the week.”

Sterlin, who had a 5.0 grade-point average in high school, is majoring in Civil Engineering. His GPA at FIU is hovering around 3.5.

His parents – Darlene, a nurse; and Fritz, a retired truck driver – were born in Haiti, and Sterlin’s dream is to go to his ancestral home to build affordable housing.

As of yet, Sterlin has never been to Haiti, and he doesn’t speak Creole fluently, but he’s working on those details.

He’s also working on one day making it to the NFL because he loves football … but also because he wants to use much of the money he earns to help the poor in Haiti.

Sterlin jokes that he has been playing football “since I came out of the womb.”

In his youth-league days with the Port St. Lucie Pirates, Sterlin would often catches passes for touchdowns and return kicks for scores, too.

Bu at FIU, he has a different role.

“I love defense,” he said. “On offense, if I don’t get the ball, it’s not fun. But at safety, I can always find a way to get to the ball. It doesn’t matter where the ball is -- to the left or the right -- I can go hunt it.

“I have passion for defense. I love that I can be aggressive.”

Sterlin played just three games last year as a true freshman. But so far this fall, he is competing for a starting job along with Illinois transfer Demetrius Hill; Arkansas State transfer Websley Etienne; and Antonio Patterson, who converted last year from running back to safety. True freshman Jessiah McGrew is also in the mix.

FIU coach Willie Simmons said Sterlin could become an All-Conference-USA safety.

“I won’t say he’s the prototype because there are not many safeties 6-2 and 210 pounds,” Simmons said. “But he has everything you look for – size, intelligence, athleticism and an ability to be a great communicator.”

Sterlin said he wants to succeed, in part, to repay his parents for their sacrifices.

His mother, for example, used to work two jobs – at Walmart and at Comcast – while also studying to become a nurse, a goal she reached.

In addition, Sterlin wants to do well to keep up with his siblings. He was raised with brother Steven, an aspiring lawyer who recently graduated from the University of Kentucky’s law school and wants to become a prosecutor; sister Shekinah, a nurse; and brother Shemar, an aspiring doctor who just graduated from Florida A&M with a bio-medical degree.

As a freshman last year, Sterlin often got just four or five hours a sleep per night.

“I had so much work to do,” he said.

This year, he’s getting seven-to-eight hours as he has made the adjustment to college life.

Still, he is incredibly driven.

“Because my parents were immigrants, education was the biggest thing for them,” he said. “They wanted to set us up for the future that they weren’t able to have. They sacrificed so much for us.

“I can’t let them down.”

Sterlin was asked what he wants people to gleam from his story.

“I want people to realize that you actually have the time to give back to your community,” Sterlin said. “There’s always a way to help. Stop caring so much about yourself, and show love to others.

“The world leaves more love and less hate.”