Vanderbilt football's Eli Stowers will return to Vanderbilt for the 2025 season instead of declare for the NFL draft, he said.

First-team All-SEC tight end Eli Stowers told ESPN that he plans to return to Vanderbilt for the 2025 season. Stowers said he thought "a lot" about the NFL, as he was projected as a midround draft pick, but he stayed because "we're building something special" at Vanderbilt.

First-team All-SEC tight end Eli Stowers will return to Vanderbilt for the 2025 season instead of heading to the NFL. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound senior began his career at Texas A&M (2021-22), played at New Mexico State in 2023 and transferred to the Commodores in 2024.

The Vanderbilt football program got a huge boost Thursday with the news that tight end Eli Stowers will return for the 2025 season. Stowers, the first Vandy offensive player to earn first-team All-SEC honors since 2013, could have chosen either to make himself available for the NFL Draft or to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

The Vanderbilt Commodores surprised the world with their quick turnaround from 2023 to 2024, earning their first bowl bid since 2018, and first bowl win since 2

The Vanderbilt Commodores are coming back stacked for the 2025 season after a 2024 campaign that saw them go 7-6 with a win in the Birmingham Bowl (their record also included a win over then-No. 1 Alabama).

Eli Stowers and Diego Pavia both came to Vanderbilt football via New Mexico State. However, the college roommates are complete opposites.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will begin to have a deeper understanding of what the 2025 NFL Draft class will look like in the end. Some dynamite prospects will be announcing their intentions soon here,