Former NFL player Jordan Matthews recently coached at Vanderbilt, giving him an opportunity to be around Philadelphia Eagles draft pick Eli Stowers.
Stowers, the Vanderbilt product who proved during his time in the SEC that he's arguably one of the best college tight ends in the country, should have a real opportunity to come in and make a massive impact in Philadelphia because of what he does on the field.
However, there's something to be said about what these guys do off the field sometimes, as that's just as important as anything else.
Speaking to The Athletic recently, Matthews stated that he absolutely loves Stowers and would even go as far as to say that he wants his kids to be like him one day. He also had a lot to say about what he does on the field, earning nothing but high praise.
“I would love for my boys to be like Eli Stowers,” Matthews said during a recent interview with The Athletic. “I don’t know if I can compliment a person better than that…
“I’m like, ‘Nobody can cover this dude.’ When he put his foot in the ground, he separates,” Matthews said. “And those are the things I kind of look for. How quickly can you put your foot in the ground and then get two to three (steps) away from somebody? … He did it so consistently early on, I’m like, ‘Listen, I don’t care what pace he plays at. This dude is explosive.’ That’s what I more so look at. Does Travis Kelce play fast? I don’t know. Is Travis Kelce explosive? One hundred percent.”
Stowers has said a lot of the right things during the early parts of his time in Philadelphia, and did so again when speaking about Matthews. It seems like they have a genuine level of respect for each other, and that's awesome to see all around.
“Jordan’s been huge; I love him to death,” Stowers said. “He’s a mentor in every aspect, not just in football. He’s big in his faith, he’s mentored me in that, in football. He went through a similar thing, a position change while he was in the league. He has so much wisdom. He played for so long in the league.
“Not just me, but everyone around the Vanderbilt facility, he taught us so much on how to be successful, how to take care of your body, what you need to do to be successful at this game and at this level.”