Eli Stowers began soothing his pain with his fingers four years ago, when he decided to teach himself to play guitar as a wounded freshman quarterback at Texas A&M.
He was in search of something to pacify his mind and his body while he was sidelined with a torn labrum — his future as a quarterback, the only position he’d ever known, in the balance.
Now a tight end, the Associated Press Preseason All-American will spend another fall catching passes from quarterback Diego Pavia and throwing bulldozing blocks against SEC opponents for Vanderbilt.
The Music City, it seems, was meant for the Texas native.
Exhibit A: The guitar. Exhibit B: He stayed in Nashville after he took his name out of the 2025 NFL Draft, where he was projected to be a fifth- or sixth-round selection.
“It’s crazy how that ended up working out,” Stowers told The Tennessean. “I started playing guitar when I was hurt. Then, all of a sudden, four years later, after I’ve gotten pretty good at it, I end up in Nashville, where that’s what it’s all about.”
Stowers began fiddling with the instrument post-surgery, after he was sling-free, because he wanted to “learn a cool skill.”
He asked for a Yamaha acoustic guitar for his 19th birthday, and did what any sleuth his age would do oncehe got it: Turned to YouTube to get himself in tune.
“My favorite is the blues,” he said. “It’s kind of like the foundation of music and guitar. So that’s what I do, turn on some blues tracks and solo over it.
“I can’t read sheet music. But after doing it for a few years, your ears start to get trained. You learn how to pick up things from just listening.”
And watching.
Which is exactly how he turned himself into a 6-foot-4, 215-pound NFL tight end prospect after his aspirations of being a quarterback at that level were taken away from him — first by the torn labrum, then by Pavia, who won the job over him when the two were at New Mexico State.
Why did Eli Stowers opt out of 2025 NFL Draft?
That Eli Stowers will wear a Vanderbilt uniform for a second season is sort of a surprise.
At least on the surface.
While the outspoken Pavia commands a king’s ransom of the headlines, Stowers — Pavia’s Bible-reading, sermon-watching roommate — commands the attention of NFL scouts. Should Stowers live up to expectations this season, he could very well end up going from guitar picks to first-round NFL draft pick in 2026.
Which both begs and answers the same questions in the same breath: Why come back to play another year with the Commodores, who begin the season Aug. 30 at home against Charleston Southern, and why put the NFL on hold?
What if you get hurt? What if you hurt your draft stock?
“There’s always going to be risk,” Stowers said. “I felt like it was better for me and for the team to stay one more year. It’s really all just on me to pour into my body and keep me as healthy as possible.
“If something happens, it happens. That’s God’s will. You can’t think about that. You just have to go out there and play free.”
A state of mind inspired by both his faith and his life experiences.
“I don’t think I was ever down and out,” Stowers said of the setbacks he has faced, with the injury, going from A&M, where he spent two years, to New Mexico State. “I think that’s what’s helped me get to where I’m at.
“I never dealt with any adversity till I got to college. I mean, in a way, I kind of had everything handed to me. I started getting offers before I took a high school snap.”
Diego Pavia on Eli Stowers: ‘I think he owes me some money’
Eli Stowers was a ball boy before he was a boy who balled.
His father, Donald Stowers, a high school coach and former player at New Mexico State, began teaching him X’s and O’s when Eli was 4 or 5 years old. Eli shagged footballs for his dad’s teams before he stepped on a field as a player.
“That’s all I knew,” said Stowers, who had 49 catches for 638 yards and five touchdowns last season.
He also knows this season is it for his college career. That the NFL is next, barring unforeseen circumstances.
That because his teammate and roommate beat him out for a quarterback job at New Mexico State, his future spells tight end.
“I think he owes me some money,” Pavia told The Tennessean. “He’s the best tight end in the country. That’s not going off of hype or name or anything like that.
“That’s going off of film. There’s two things that don’t lie: Tape and numbers. You watch that, Eli is the best in the country.”
Count Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck as another person who is grateful Stowers put off the NFL for another year. He has had a front-row seat to the Stowers Show since 2023, when the two were together at New Mexico State.
“Eli maybe amazed a few people with some of the things he did (last year), with his blocking ability,” Beck said. “Part of him coming back this year was the fact he still feels like he needs some development as a tight end.
“I’m super excited about, number one, having him back because he’s such a good person, and I think another year working with our tight end coaches will help him that much more in his overall game.”
Which is music to the ears of Stowers.
And music to the ears at Vanderbilt.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at ps******@********an.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Eli Stowers stayed at Vanderbilt football and delayed NFL draft
