NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt football tight end Eli Stowers’ path from Denton, Texas, to Nashville was not linear but at the center of his journey to a starting job in the SEC was trust.
Growing up, Stowers was an athletic kid, a state champion in the high jump and a four-star prospect as a quarterback. His athleticism and talent as a signal caller led him to the first stop on his journey, College Station, Texas.
After spending two seasons at Texas A&M, Stowers headed west to New Mexico State, his father’s alma mater. It was also the school where Vanderbilt’s Jerry Kill was the head coach and Tim Beck the offensive coordinator. In two seasons, Kill and Beck helped the Aggies improve from a 2-10 record in 2021 to six regular season victories and a bowl win in 2022. The duo’s accomplishment caught Stowers’ attention, but the conversation he had with them sold him on their vision.
“I could tell they had a really good culture over there,” Stowers commented. “That’s what appealed to me. I wanted to be a part of that and help rebuild.”
A few months after arriving in a new place, Stowers, still playing quarterback at this point, found himself looking to fill a new role on the Aggies’ football team.
“I kind of saw the writing on the wall, and I knew that I probably wasn’t going to start,” he said. “I went into Coach Beck’s office and said, ‘Hey Coach, I understand that I’m not going to be the starter, and I just want to be able to help the team in any way.’ I didn’t even care – I was like, ‘I’ll play special teams; if you want me to play defense, I’ll do that.’”
“I think that it shows his unselfishness,” Beck said of Stowers’ willingness to change positions. “He’s willing to give what he can to the team to make the team better. And I think in the long run that’ll pay dividends for him, because I think he’s going to see this is a great position for him.”
Looking for a way to contribute, Stowers found himself stepping into the tight end position and finding success there. In his first season consistently playing anywhere other than quarterback, he grabbed 35 receptions for 366 yards and two touchdowns, also adding 29 rushes for 113 yards and two scores. Stowers’ four receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown contributed to New Mexico State’s win at Auburn, the program’s first-ever victory over an SEC team. He also capped his initial campaign in Las Cruces with an All-Conference…