Eli Stowers’ journey to Vanderbilt hasn’t been easy. It’s been full of twists and turns that have made him into the player, teammate and person he is today.

The Denton, Texas, native was a four-star recruit at Guyer High School and ranked by 247Sports as the No. 12 quarterback in the country and the No. 17 overall recruit in the Lone Star State. He received offers from a bevy of Power Four schools, including Georgia, LSU, Clemson and Auburn, before ultimately signing with Texas A&M.

He suffered a significant knee injury during the last game of his junior season, but he didn’t let that stop him. Stowers returned with a vengeance and led his team to a Class 6A state semifinal berth during his senior year. His efforts — 3575 total yards and 36 total touchdowns — earned him a First-Team All-District selection.

Stowers had all of the makings of a star collegiate quarterback: He had the size (6’4”, 235 pounds), frame and athleticism to fit perfectly into then-head coach Jimbo Fisher’s system. Scouts praised his arm strength and pocket-passing ability but made it clear that his speed and agility running with the ball were what made his game special. 

The budding star enrolled at Texas A&M in the winter of 2021 — a semester early — ready to work. His plans took a shift, however, when he suffered a torn labrum to his throwing arm that spring. This injury forced him to temporarily transition to tight end for the team’s first three games before taking a redshirt season. He didn’t receive surgery on his shoulder until the end of his freshman season and missed much of 2022, as well. 

“I [was dealing] with a shoulder thing as soon as I got there that I didn’t even realize was going on. I ended up tearing my labrum in my freshman season,” Stowers told The Hustler. “I got surgery at the end of that season and pretty much missed the whole next [season]. I didn’t come back until the eighth or ninth game of the [2022] season.”

It wasn’t the first time he had suffered a serious injury, and Stowers used his experience from high school — as well as his faith — to help him recover. 

“Thankfully, the surgery in high school was worse. It was a lot harder than the one at A&M,” Stowers said. “I think God kind of prepared me for that, in a way. By the time that happened at A&M, I was kind of just being peaceful and trusting God and working on his timing.”

After that season ended and his shoulder healed, Stowers entered his name into the transfer portal. It wasn’t easy for him, but he knew it was the right decision. 

“I felt like I needed to go and start fresh somewhere,” Stowers said. “I love A&M, and I love everything about the school, [but] I just felt like I needed a fresh start.”

Stowers might have been a highly-touted in high school, but two years later with little playing experience at the collegiate level and a surgically-repaired throwing arm, he didn’t get the same attention from Power Four schools. He noted that his dad played safety for New Mexico State, and that his connection through his father was what put him on the Aggies’ radar in the first place.

“I didn’t have many opportunities because I just didn’t play much,” Stowers said. “I think I had five offers coming out of A&M and the coaches at New Mexico State seemed the most genuine, the most real. Like they really wanted me.” 

Jerry Kill and Tim Beck — then head coach and offensive coordinator at New Mexico State — may have recruited him to play quarterback, but Stowers wasn’t the same player he was coming out of high school. His torn labrum was still taking its toll.

“I was pretty much a quarterback all the way, and I was going [to New Mexico State] as a quarterback,” Stowers said. “After all that happened at [Texas] A&M, my throwing was just never the same, and I could never get back to where I was in high school.”

He spent the 2023 offseason battling for the starting quarterback job but ultimately lost it to a name that’s since become a household name: Diego Pavia. 

“A lot of people haven’t put this into perspective, but when I got to New Mexico State, [Pavia and I] were competing. In my mind, [I was] going in to take his job,” Stowers said. “He showed me pretty quickly that he wasn’t going to let me do that. I was competing in every way I could, but the kid has a different drive about him. I’ve never seen someone as driven as him.”

Pavia won the job, but Stowers didn’t just sit back and watch — he was ready and willing to do whatever he could to help his team win. A few weeks before the season, he approached Beck and told him he was ready for a permanent switch. 

“I walked into Coach Beck’s office and [said,] ‘Hey, I just want to help the team in some way, and I feel like I can,’” Stowers said. “That’s how he got me into that flex tight end position, and I’ve just been learning since then.”

The challenge posed by a complete position change might have taken a toll on most, but Stowers — who had already faced so much adversity — kept his faith. 

“When I got [to A&M] and couldn’t do what I used to be able to do, it was really hard on me,” Stowers said. “By the time I got to New Mexico State, I think I was just over it. It finally got to [a] point where I was like, ‘God’s trying to show you something that you need to listen to.’”

Of course, the emotions weren’t the only thing Stowers had to deal with. 

“Strategically, it was different because I never played anything other than [quarterback]. The blocking part was the hardest for me, just having to learn that,” Stowers said. “It kind of helped being a quarterback, though, because [I] understand the mind of the quarterback and [how] to read defenses.” 

Switching positions right before the season started required some adjustment from Stowers. 

“It definitely took a couple of games for me to get used to being [at] a different position on the field,” Stowers said. “Literally, my whole life I was behind center, and all of a sudden a couple of weeks before the season [I’m] playing something different.”

It might have taken some time, but Stowers found his footing before the season’s halfway point. He didn’t record any receiving stats until the Aggie’s Week Five matchup with FIU, when he nabbed 3 catches for 24 yards. Stowers took off from there, stuffing the stat sheet in Week Seven against UTEP, when his 5 catches for 80 yards paced all receivers in the game.

He caught his first career touchdown — and added his second rushing — on Nov. 11 against Western Kentucky University. The highlight of his young career at tight end came the next week, as his 4 catches for 48 yards and a score helped lead the Aggies to a massive road upset over Auburn for their tenth win of the season. 

More change came flooding into Stowers’ life when the season ended, as Kill, Beck and Pavia — three of the most important people in his life at New Mexico — shipped off to Nashville. Kill would become Vanderbilt Football head coach Clark Lea’s chief consultant, Beck his offensive coordinator and Pavia his starting quarterback. 

The decision made itself pretty clear.

“Coach Kill and Coach Beck are two of the best coaches I’ve ever been around,” Stowers said. “[Pavia’s] got a work ethic and a determination that I’ve literally never seen, and [it] inspires me in a lot of ways at this new position.” 

So he finished his degree at New Mexico State and joined those three — along with a handful of other former Aggies who transferred — on West End. 

To say that Stowers has made history in his short time donning the Black and Gold would be an understatement: He’s helped change the Commodores’ culture and taken the country by storm in his first full year playing tight end.

Vanderbilt now sits at No. 25 in the nation thanks to a 5-2 start, and Stowers has been a key component of that success. Stowers leads the team in receptions (33), receiving yards (463) and touchdowns (2), but it’s his chemistry with Pavia that has opened up Vanderbilt’s entire offense. The two share a bond that few could hope to replicate. 

“I have real, genuine love for Eli Stowers,” Pavia said after Vanderbilt’s 40-35 upset of Alabama. “He’s changed my life.” 

Stowers is getting better and better every week as he continues to grow into his new position. He brought in eight catches for a career-high 130 yards and a score — the third time this year he’s broken his own record. Thanks to his athleticism and size, he’s turning into a matchup nightmare for all defenders involved. 

“[Stowers] knows how to get himself open. He’s a big target, and he’s got great hands,” Lea said after Vanderbilt’s 24-14 victory over Ball State. “He’s a tough, physical runner, too and he bounces off of tackles.”

Lea knows that the sky’s the limit for Stowers.

“[Stowers has] really developed his game here in his first full year as a tight end,” Lea said. “I’m glad he’s here, and I think there’s actually a higher level for him. He’s just got to keep pushing towards it.” 

Stowers, a man of faith, hasn’t taken any of these moments for granted. He certainly doesn’t take his teammates for granted, either. When asked about his performance after the Commodores’ win over the Cardinals, Stowers stayed humble. 

“[I’m thankful] that my name was called. It’s always a blessing for your name to be called. All I’m focused on is doing my job. If the play comes to me, [it] comes to me,” Stowers said. “All I really did [on that touchdown] was run straight, so really [my teammates] made that happen.” 

Now it’s time for Stowers and his teammates to look ahead to one of the biggest moments program history. They’ll welcome the No. 5 Texas Longhorns into FirstBank Stadium for the first ranked matchup in Nashville since 2008. The win could not only vault Vanderbilt up the SEC standings and into the College Football Playoff spotlight, but it could forever alter the course of Lea’s program.

None of that is lost on Stowers, but he’s less focused on what the game represents than he is on the preparation. 

“I’m excited for the game. I think all of us are. It’s just a matter of being able to prepare throughout the week. We have to have the best week of preparation that we’ve had, and we have to keep doing that every single week,” Stowers said. “We have to be even-keeled and come to work every single day.”  

As for what comes after this season, Stowers has turned his future over to his faith. 

“As of right now, I have no idea. I’m really just taking it one game at a time,” Stowers said. “I’m praying on it a lot, and I feel like God will reveal what I need to do at the right time.”

Stowers will carry his faith, love of learning and commitment to his team into this weekend — and the rest of the season — as he and the Commodores seek to make even more history on West End.  

This story was originally published on The Vanderbilt Hustler on October 24, 2024.