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 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).

Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers will be back in Music City next fall. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Stowers will return to the Commodores rather than entering the 2025 NFL Draft in order to stay a part of what they’re doing right now at Vandy.

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 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.