Meet Eli Stowers, the gifted athlete that's set to play QB for Texas A&M

DENTON, Texas -- You could easily mistake Texas A&M's future signal-caller for their future pass-rusher.

Eli Stowers bears resemblance to some of the more athletic quarterbacks in the country. He's 6-foot-4 and recently tacked on 17 pounds to get up to 213. For comparison's sake, Stowers is taller than mobile NFL quarterbacks like Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson or Aaron Rodgers. He compares more favorably to Cam Newton, Carson Wentz or even Patrick Mahomes.

Stowers has the size, but there's much more to consider. He recorded a school-record 7-foot high jump back in May, breaking the mark originally set by his father. Stowers is the reigning Class 6A state champion in that event. His vertical was 42 inches the last time he tested it at TCU. He estimated a 40 time between 4.4 and 4.45 seconds, and then there's the fact that he can launch a ball about 70 yards on a rope.

The incredible physical feats that Stowers brings to the table naturally leads to buzz. Some of which includes comps to the aforementioned Newton, by his head coach, and Mahomes, by members of the Aggies' staff.

"I've heard it. I've heard a couple of places," Stowers laughed. "People will comment on my posts and I've seen it on Twitter. Coach Fisher, I think, compared me to Pat Mahomes. That's something Coach (Darrel) Dickey or (Terry) Price told me. I play my own game, though. I think that's the best way for you to try and improve -- to play your game and not to compare yourself to anybody. I try to improve at what I can improve on. I listen to my coaches and they'll put me in the right place."

At 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds, Stowers naturally stands out amongst his teammates in the huddle. He hasn't always been the tall kid and certainly doesn't think twice about being one now.

Stowers hit a growth spurt in middle school between the seventh and eighth grades, sprouting four inches from 5-foot-6 to north of 6-feet in one summer, then shooting up to the height he stands now. That gave the quarterback size to go along with speed and insane measurables that would draw a host of eyes whenever he made it to the NFL Combine.

As he evaluated his college options, Fisher's history of molding dual-threat quarterbacks grabbed his attention. Stowers made a string of visits from Denton to College Station in the spring and again for camp in June before coming to the realization that Texas A&M would put him in the best situation to prosper.

"One of the main reasons I picked Texas A&M was that I fit perfectly into their offense," said Stowers, who through four weeks of the 2019 season has completed 64 percent of his passes (45-of-70) for 942 yards with 11 touchdowns compared to 2 interceptions. He also has 365 yards rushing with three more scores and is averaging better than 11.4 yards per carry.

"Studying their offense and watching a little bit of their games, I felt the same way. One of the reasons I committed to Texas A&M is that they told me they loved my athleticism and they said they would utilize it if I go there."

"I went to their spring practice, and after that, I came home and I loved it," he continued. "I love how Coach Fisher, he's hard on the quarterbacks and you kind of need that to improve yourself. He's just not hard on the quarterbacks; he's hard on everyone equally. You can see he's turning around the place over there. I am loving what they're doing with the place over there, and after I went to (the) camp over the summer, I kind of knew at that point."

Stowers never set a commitment date. He never officially narrowed down his scholarship offers and for the most part, kept his recruitment very private to discuss mainly amongst his coaches and family.

Often, a visit to campus or a sit-down conversation with a coach can push a highly touted prospect -- and in particular, a quarterback -- closer to making a decision. For Stowers, it was a rather unconventional realization involving plenty of thinking, but sparked by homework assignment followed up by a quick phone call to inform the Head Aggie.

"Honestly, me, personally, I prayed about it and when the time came up, it just felt right," Stowers detailed. "God put the decision in my heart. I always liked Texas A&M. I liked it since the first visit I went on. I love the campus, I love the coaching staff, I love everything about it. They were always in my top schools list I had and it just felt right. I didn't have any (commitment) date set. I was literally writing a U.S. History paper over the summer and thinking about it. I called my parents up into my room and told them I was ready to commit to Texas A&M. I called Coach Fisher that day and that's how it wound up going. He asked me if I was serious and then was like, 'Wow, thank you so much!' He pretty much welcomed me as much as he could."

That decision came on July 2, about a month removed from Stowers' workout in College Station for Texas A&M's elite camp, which included several of the state's premier passers.

Now, nearly three months have passed since making that pledge. That includes Sept. 1, when college coaches could begin to directly contact junior recruits and head coaches can reach out via text message.

Stowers has been in contact with Dickey and Fisher -- and he's anxious to send over his film and receive some feedback -- but for the most part, he's spent his fall informing other coaches he's solid to the Aggies.

"A lot of schools have respected my decision that I made. It hasn't been as crazy as you might have thought it would be, but there have been some coaches who hit me up and usually leave you with a 'I know you're committed and we respect it ...'" Stowers said.

"The weight ... it's definitely off my shoulders," Stowers breathed a sigh of relief. "When I wasn't committed, coaches kept calling my coaches, calling them overnight and even if I didn't want to, if I just wanted to go to sleep ... the weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm going to a place where I feel good and where God wants me to be at. I'm content with my decision."