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NFL Draft TE Prospect Eli Stowers: Good Vibe From Meeting With Eagles, TEs Coach Ryan Mahaffey · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: What's going on? Everyone? Welcome into a special edition of
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the Checko Daily. Andrew dcheco here, Eagles Beat reporter Friendsidethebirds
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: dot Com. It's a special edition because today I'm joined
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: by one of the premier prospects in the twenty twenty
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: six NFL Draft, a twenty twenty five John Mackew Award
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: winner former Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers, who's kind enough
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: to spend some time talking with me about his journey. Eli,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: thanks for thanks for jumping on.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, thanks for having me.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: So I have to ask you, because there are so
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: many demands with this process. What has this draft process
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: been like for you? And how have you gone about navigating?
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's been a blessing for me. And
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: you know, it's been cool to kind of go through
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: this whole process, like, you know, just looking back on it,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: it's something that you know, I dreamed of going through
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: as a kid, and you know, watching the commine on
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: TV and we even went to a couple of pro
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: days as a kid just to watch guys, you know,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: work out, and so you know, to be training for
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: this whole thing and be able to talk to teams
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: and all this kind of stuff. It's been a blessing
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: and you know, I'm just kind of soaking it all in,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: you know, staying prepared, you know, trusting in my faith
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: in God and you know, continue to just put my
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: head down to work and then we'll see what happens
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: in April.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: Have you found yourself leaning on anyone in particular for
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: guidance through the process.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: I mean, I always lean on my faith, like I said, like,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: I'm always talking to God, praying to him and you know,
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: kind of getting guidance there. But in terms of inn
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: you know, people in my life, like I'd say, you know,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: my dad kind of went through this process back in
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: the day, and so I talked to him a lot,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: you know, just every day about what's going on, you know,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: what's changing, anything like that throughout the day. And you know,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: just other people that I've been through it. You know,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: I got there's a lot of people in my corner,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: and you know, thankfully I have a good support system
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: and so being able to talk to people that you know,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: have experience going through the stuff, it's it's been. It's
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: been good for me.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Were you always someone of strong faith?
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: He live, Yeah, I was. I mean I was born
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: and raised in a Christian household, and you know, I'm
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: very thankful that my parents raised me and my sister
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: in the church. We grew up going to church and
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: you know, reading the Word together, praying, and but I
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: think it kind of became more my own. It was
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: more of my parents' faith growing up, you know, kind
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: of just my parents raised us that way, and that's
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: just all I knew. Eventually became more of my own faith.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Towards the end of high school and going into college,
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: and I learned some things, you know about the faith.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: I started diving deeper into it, getting more into the Word,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: and it became even more important to me than it
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: already was.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: So you mentioned your parents. You come from a decorated
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: background of athletes and your family. So I have to
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: give you an opportunity here to kind of outline all
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: the athletes that that have come before you.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Sure, So, like I said, my dad, he went
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: through this process back in ninety four, he went to
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: the Commine. He played safety in New Mexico State. He
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: had a short time in the league and then played
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: at in NFL Europe when they had that going on
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: over in Germany for the Ryan fire and then he
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: got straight into coaching after that. And then my mom,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: she was a former semi pro beach volleyball player. She
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: played that all the way up into like her thirties
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: and became a volleyball coach after that as well. Then
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: my sister is probably the best athlete in the family.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: She's she plays volleyball at Texas A and M. This
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: past year she was an All American National Championship NAS
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Championship MVP. She had a crazy story, started out at
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Baylor's now Texas A and M. But yeah, she's the
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: best player in the country.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: So let's go back to the beginning. And you had
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: an accomplished career as a quarterback coming out of high school.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: I believe you were a four star recruit. You end
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: up committing to Texas A and M. Were the aggies
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: looking at you at any other position or any other
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: schools looking at you as anything other than a quarterback?
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: Now, coming out of high school, I was always looked at,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: you know, as a quarterback, and that's that's really all
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: I was, you know, I think when so when I
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: got to A and M, and I started dealing with
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: the shoulder injury that first year I was doing some
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: some other things. I was kind of working some kind
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: of hybrid tight ending receiver, really more of a receiver
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: than because I was a lot smaller and doing like
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: working some routes and stuff. Because I couldn't throw the
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: ball because my labor was torn. So I was doing
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: some other stuff just to try to, you know, try
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: something out. I was doing special teams, but you know,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: I was still in the quarterback room. And I got
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: surgery on my shoulder, went back to quarterback. But coming
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: out of high school, no, I was completely recruited as
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: a quarterback by every schools.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: So then you you spent two years at Texas and
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: then then you transferred to New Mexico State, and it's
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: there that you're a quarterback, but you also begin the
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: conversion to tight end. So what sparked that that movie?
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Like yeah, So, like I said, I mentioned the injury,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: but after that injury, I was never really really the
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: same throwing the ball. Even after I got the surgery,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: I couldn't I couldn't spend it like I used to
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: be able to. I couldn't put vassi on it like
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: I used to be able to. And and so when
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: I got to New Mexico State. I was still playing quarterback.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Me and Diego were competing when I first got there,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: and eventually Diego won the starting job. And after that,
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: I went into Coachback's office and I said, Coach, I
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: know I have the ability. I know I can help
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: the team in some way. I just want to get
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: on the field and help out. I don't care if
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: that's on another position on offense, on special teams, on defense,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: I'll do anything. And so that's when he suggested moving
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: the tight end. And by that point I had gone
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: through the stuff on my shoulder and you know, the
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: throwing thing by that point for almost three years, and
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: so I think that was one of those things that
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: God was kind of trying to kind of force me
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: into that, and I wasn't wanting to in the first,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: you know, having many years, and by that point I
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: had a lot of peace with it when I went
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: to Coachback's office, and so, honestly, it was it was
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: a blessing in disguise. Man. God God works in those
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: ways sometimes, and so I'm really thankful for going.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: From quarterback to tight end. What were for you, Eli,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: what was your initial sticking point or challenge that you
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: sort of had to, you had to get passed.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, honestly, it was the newest thing to me,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: was the blocking. So like the the running the routes
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: and the catching the ball and learning the scheme and
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: you know, all that kind of stuff, it came more
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: natural to me because I was I was a pretty
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: good athlete and so, but the blocking thing was something
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: that was brand new. Never never had blocked that. I
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: was a quarterback my whole life, literally since I started
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: playing football, and so had never blocked anybody. But I
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: think that's the thing that took the most learning. And
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: I think over these last two years, I've gotten a
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: whole lot better and I'm thankful for my coaches, and
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: you know, I've been watching a ton of film on
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: pro guys. You know it's it's all it's blocking is
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: about will and technique, and you know, I have the will.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: I want to be the best tight end that I
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: can be, and then from that point, it's just learning
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: the technique and understanding how to block. And I think
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: I'm taking a lot of strides in that and continuing
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: to get better at it.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: So who are some of those players in the program
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: the pro game that you've been watching in terms of
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: the blocking acumen.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, in terms of the blocking aspect, I mean the
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: guy that that's that kind of every I feel like
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: all tight ends watches George Kittle. And I think that
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: because George Kittle. I watched George Kittle specifically because he
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: is elite at everything a tight end does. You know,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: He's not just a blocking tight end or a pass
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: catching tight end. He does all of it at an
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: elite level. And that's, you know, that's the point that
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: I want to try to get to. Like, I play
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: the position at tight end, and we run, we run routes,
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: we catch balls, and we also block. And so if
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: you want to be an elite tight end in the NFL,
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: you got to be elite at all those and he's
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: he's the highest level of that. And so you know,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: I watch a lot of him and just you know,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: kind of understanding the mindset of being a tight end,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: and like when you watch him play football and whatever
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: he's doing, you can tell he loves it. He loves blocking,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: he loves catching balls, all that kind of stuff. So
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: you know, I get a lot of inspiration from him.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Now watching your career Vanderbilt, it's very evident if you
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: follow along that you've made improvements. You've made strides and blocking,
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: and you talked about that at the combine, But how
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: specifically have you gone about really refining that area of
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: your game.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So when I got to vander Build, I was
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: like brand news of the position. When I was in
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: the Mesco State, I was kind of I was doing
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: like some I was in the quarterback room the whole year,
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: but I was you know, they throw me out there
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: to run routes every now and then. But but when
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: I got to Vanny, I was brand new to really
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: the full time tight end position. And so I was
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: just learning from my co coach Flats and coach leepags
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: Are there are two tight end coaches that there, and
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: they were they would just give us a bunch of
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: you know, drills to do and you know, give us
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: film to watch and you know, just to understand how
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: to get better at it, because at the end of
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: the day, it's all reps, it's all technique, all muscle memory.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: And so you know, as a tight end group, we'd
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: go out and we'd hit the sled, you know, every
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: other morning during the summer, you know, we would work
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: on our literally just hitting nothing, work on your first step,
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: get your second step in the ground, you know, striking
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: the pad, just putting where your hands are going to be,
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: you know, driving your feet on contact. You know in spaace,
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: you know coming to balance and you know being able
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: to still gain ground. All that kind of stuff. Just
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: just a bunch of drills that you do in every
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: single aspect of blocking and you just have to work
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: at it. So that's what I was doing.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Is that something that you've really placed an emphasis on
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: really in the past couple of months as well.
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I it's not just the blocking, because
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: you know, at the end of the day, I'm newer
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: to the position in every aspect now I think there
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: running the routes and like I said, running routs and
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: catching balls came a little more natural. But at the
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: end of the day, like there's nuances to run the
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: routes and attacking the ball that you have to work
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: at as well. So I wouldn't say it's just the blocking,
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: And like I'm working on every single aspect of my game,
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: trying to get to the point where you know, I
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: can be the best TID and I can be for
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: whatever team takes me.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: So coming from the quarterback position, you probably have a
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: unique vantage point in running routes because you know exactly
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: the depths and things like that. Do you feel that
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: that helped ease your transition in terms of route running.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's just because you know, understanding the
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: game from from a quarterback perspective. In the passing game especially,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: it just helps you be on the same page with
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: the quarterback. And so you know, seeing coverage is the
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: same way. You know, there's a it's a little different
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: when you're actually seeing the coverage I'm running a route
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: rather than in the backfield. But then that just took reps.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: But like you know, from that point, it's just being
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: a quarterback's friend, understanding coverages, understanding where the you know,
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: the open spots are on zone, stuff like that, and
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: I think that's what it definitely helps me just build
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: chemistry with my quarterbacks.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: So you said something interesting at the combine at the podium.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: He said, you know, coming from quarterback, I understand the
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: game at a higher level than most tight ends. And
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: you've alluded to some of that now, but could you
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: expand a little bit on that what you met?
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that not in a sense of like
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: like I understand it better than anyone, but I understand
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: it in a way that like from a from a
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: former quarterbacks perspective, So you know, just kind of seeing
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: coverages in the same way, and you know, under understanding
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: like the entire aspect of the football, of the game
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: of football, because that's what you have to know as
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: a quarterback. You have to know what everyone does on offense,
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: what everyone does on defense. You know how to anticipate
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: what the defense is going to do, how you know
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: what you do within the concept works with in the
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: entire concept and the blocking, skin everything, And so I
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: think that was just something that I had learned, you know,
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: from a young age and continue to learn more about
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: it as a quarterback and going to A and M
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: in New Mexico State, and so that's that's really what
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: I meant by that.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: But you're part of a lot of success at Vanderbilt.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: What's your perspective of being a key part of that turnaround?
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's like that was a blessing just to
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: be able to go there and and be at a
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: school as amazing as Vanderbilt. Like, I don't think people
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: really understand just how amazing that school is because they
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: kind of view it from a sense of like the
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: former you know how I was viewed as an athletic
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: pro really as a football program in general. And I
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: think that people don't understand like that in terms of
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: like an SEC school in the middle of an amazing
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: city with the best academics, the best people, you know,
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: the best athletic director, head coach here, coaches in general,
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: you know, fans of everything. Like it was just a
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: blessing to be here and to be able to be
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: a part of a turnaround like that. You know, it
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: was just like I said, like I he was staying
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: over and over again, but it was really just a blessing.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: You know that God kind of made that happen and
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: for for me to be a part of that.
• 12:07
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  Speaker 1: What compelled you Eli to return for the twenty twenty
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: five season.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean at the end of that season, we
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: had we had a decent season that year, we went
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: seven and six, we won a Bowl game, and but
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: I just felt like there was there was more in
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: the tank, and you know, we had people coming back,
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: Diego got his extra year back, or all of our
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: coaches stayed the same. Like, I just felt like there
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: was more in the tank, and I wanted to be
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: a part of, you know, a season like we had
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: last year because we all knew it was possible. We
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: knew we had the talent, we knew we had the people,
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: the work ethic, everything. We decided to put it together.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: And I want to be a part of that. And
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: then it also just just helped me in a sense
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: of giving me another year of experience and being able
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: to grow as a tight end for when I go
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: to the next level.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: So I'm sure you have this off the top of
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: your head, but what's one game that you feel best
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: captures your receiving ability and your explosive this, And what's
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: one game that anyone should look at that highlights your
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: blocking problems.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: I'd say probably Auburn from my receiving and then Auburn
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: from this year, and then Tennessee for the blocking.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: And you mentioned Diego and he was one of the
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: more electric players to watch last season. What was what
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: was it like being a teammate of his and do
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: you have any any memorable stories from playing with them.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: I mean just in terms of like what is it
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: like to be a teammate. You just watch what he
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: does on film, you know, like having a quarterback like that,
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: like you can you can see not only how good
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: of a player he is, but like how his personality
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: is on the field. You know, you you'll see him
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: throw a ball or hand the ball off and Diego's
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: running thirty yards down the field to meet the guy
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: and pick him up. You know. I mean that's just
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: not that's not something that you normally see from quarterbacks,
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: you know. And so it's like just being able to
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: play with a guy that you know, really cares about
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: his teammates is gonna work, you know, as hard as
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: as a human possibly can that loves the game of football.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: You know. I mean, like I said, you watched it
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: on film. He was the best player in college football
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: last year. He really was. And you know, I think
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: that that any teams that you know, pass up on
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: him are missing out because he's done nothing but show
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: that he can win. And literally at every single place
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: he's gone, he's won games. And so you know, I mean,
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: you know, really in terms of like stories and stuff.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: That's really all you need to know about the kid
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: in terms of you know, how he's gonna be able
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: to help an NFL team. He will help the team
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: win games no matter you know who takes him so.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: And your words, he like, what makes you the top
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: tighten in this draft class?
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: I would say that, you know I bring I bring
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: a you know, a unique blend of like athletics and size,
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: and you know, I've been available in the last three years.
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: I haven't missed the game in the last you know
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: three years that I've played in college and you know,
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: and just having that quarterback background in terms of like,
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: you know, understanding the game. And you're also going to
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: get someone who is going to put their head down
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: and work and understand that you know that they can
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: never be satisfied. That I can never be satisfied with
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: anything or where I where I'm at in my process,
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: but continuing to get better and put my head down
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: and work and listen to my coaches and want to
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: be the best player that I can be for my team.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: So and because you're so new to the position at
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: least this is the way that I view it. You
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: have another level. You're just scratching the surface of what
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: you're able to do, and you're coming into your own
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: would you agree?
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah? One, And I think that's why I'm like so
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: so focused on like soaking up information and learning and
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: watching so much film. Like it was something that when
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: I moved to this position, it was something new, and honestly,
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: it was a breath of fresh air, like being able
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: to learn and continue to get better and grow that
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: process and continue to like, you know, like I said,
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: get better. It's it's it's an amazing feeling. So I
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: want to continue to just you know, soak up as
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: much information as I can and learn.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: So when you're not playing football, what do you what
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: do you like to do? What are some of your hobbies?
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: Uh? Well, me, I just got engaged recently, So I
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: hang out with my fiance a lot, hang out with
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: my you know, my boys, my teammates. I played guitar,
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: started playing a guitar about four years ago, so I'm
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: pretty decent by now. Started picking up golf this year,
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: so I'm terrible with that, but hopefully I can get
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: good at that. We'll see.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Well, congratulations on the engagement. That's awesome. And who are
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: some guitar players that you that you like to to
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: kind of follow along with.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: Uh, yeah, so I kind of. I like a lot
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: of blue stuff actually, So you know, I listened to
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: Stevie ray Vaughn. John Mayer is an incredible guitar player.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: I listened to him a lot. Eddie Van Halen's a
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: great too, So, you know, try to learn all their
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: stuff that it's really hard to play.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: But have you played any tried any eruption yet? Try
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: to play an I have tried eruption.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: I can get the taping part down a little bit,
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: but the rest of the stuff is, Yeah, it's ridiculous.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: But wow, that's impressive. You're gonna have to put out
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: a video or something about that. That's I've never never
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: seen anybody try that. But because this is an Eagles podcast,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: I have to ask have you met with the Eagles?
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: I did? I had. I had a formal interview with
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: the Eagles at the Come on.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: Did you have a chance to talk to tight ends
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: coach Ryan Mahaffey at all?
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: I did, sir, What are your impressions of Ryan?
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: I think he was, you know, in the meeting, he
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: was really respectful and you know, I could tell he
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: loves football and he wants to be able to, you know,
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: help his players just be the best they can be.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: And I could just get that vibe from him speaking
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: with him for twenty minutes, you know. And so you know,
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: I think he's he's a really great coach, and you know,
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: it'd be a blessing to play for him.
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: So do you know anything about Philadelphia?
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: Not much, but you know I know that, Uh, that's
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: where the Rocky Statue is.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: So have you decided whether or not you're going to
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: attend the draft.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: I probably won't be attending the draft. I'll do some
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: like a party or something at home.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: But oh cool, What are the next four weeks gonna
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: be like for you? What do you have on tap?
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah? So I got a couple of visits that I
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: have to go to, and then from that point it's
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: just you know, meetings like zoom calls or you know,
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: phone calls or anything like that with teams and then
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: just continue to train and be ready for rookie Minniicamp
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: when that happens.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: So that's awesome. I really appreciate it, and I wish
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: you all the best. Eli, Thanks for taking some time
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: to chat with me about your your journey and we'll
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: see where it takes you.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: Man. Yeah, sir, thank you so much.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: Absolutely well, that's gonna do it for this edition of
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: The Checko Daily for Eli Stowers. I'm Andrew Decheco and
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: I'll catch you all on the next one.