Texas native Stowers prepares for Vanderbilt’s showdown with the Longhorns | football

Vanderbilt fans felt a little uneasy in the final minutes of the second half last Saturday.

Two weeks after the surprise upset of Alabama and a week before the showdown against Texas, the Commodores trailed closely watched Ball State 7-6 at FirstBank Stadium.

That’s when tight end Eli Stowers made his latest impactful play for the Commodores – he lined up as an H-back, hesitated as he moved through the line of scrimmage, and then do a screen pass by Diego Pavia 41 yards into the end zone. Vandy (5-2, 20-1) would not fall behind again en route to its 24-14 victory over the Cardinals.

Stowers finished the game with eight catches and a career-high 130 yards. This was the third time in seven games this season that he surpassed the 100-yard mark.

“He knows how to get open,” Vandy coach Clark Lea said. “He has great hands and is a great target. I think that’s one of the great things about Eli [he had] 95 yards after the catch, so also a tough, physical runner. He bounces off tackles.”

What will be the encore performance for Stowers, who ranks fourth among all FBS tight ends with 33 catches this season and sixth among FBS tight ends with 463 receiving yards?

The Denton, Texas, native would like to put together another game full of highlights against the Longhorns (6-1), who are ranked No. 5 in the AP Top 25 after their first loss of the season against Georgia last Saturday.

In addition to being a Texas native, the 6-4, 235-pound Stowers spent the first two years of his college career at Texas A&M, where he was a backup quarterback.

“I’m looking forward to the game,” Stowers said. “I think we all are. It’s really just about being able to prepare throughout the week. We have to have the best week of preparation we’ve ever had and we have to do that every week. This week we’re focusing on Texas and I think we’re looking forward to it. But I think we have to be balanced and come to work every day to be prepared.”

The road from Stowers to Vanderbilt had some unusual turns.

A four-star quarterback prospect, Stowers led his Guyer High team to the state championship as a junior.

But after sitting on the bench for most of his two seasons at Texas A&M in 2021 and 2022, Stowers transferred to New Mexico State, where he lost his starting quarterback job to…current Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

Stowers spent most of this season at tight end, catching 35 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns and 29 rushes for 113 yards and two scores. Just for fun, Stowers completed four passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Those kinds of numbers — and that kind of versatility — were why Stowers was named The athlete‘S Freaks List moves into 2024, with the publication noting that Stowers managed a 41-1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10-8 broad jump in the offseason.

Stowers has been completely out of control on defense this season, as he has totaled 30 catches and 410 yards in his last five games – the totals include a nine-catch, 110-yard effort against Georgia State and a six-catch, 113-yard outing in Vandy’s upset of then-top-ranked Alabama.

“He and Diego brought the chemistry from a year ago here,” Lea said. “I think Eli has really developed his game here, in his first full year as a tight end and in the tight end room. I’m glad he’s here and that there’s actually a higher level for him. He just has to keep pushing for it. In any case, it’s a reliable target and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Stowers is clearly Pavia’s favorite target, as the tight end’s 33 receptions are more than double the number of wide receiver Quincy Skinner (16 receptions), who ranks second among Vandy pass catchers.

“I think it would be cool to think that [I play a safety-blanket role for Pavia]Stowers said. “But really, I just try to focus on doing my job every game. When the pieces come to me, they come to me.”

Pavia has predicted that Stowers – despite his late start at his position – will be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

In fact, the NFL world is starting to take notice of Stowers. Pro Football Focus recently ranked him the fifth-best player at his position and called Stowers “the biggest draft prospect at tight end.” The quarterback-turned-tight end has a PFF grade of 88.9 this season and boasts a Game Athleticism Score of 97.7 with a top speed of over 21 mph.”

Stowers will be more concerned with such things after Vanderbilt’s season.

In the meantime, the former Aggie would love nothing more than to score on the Longhorns this weekend.