National Football Foundation

Vanderbilt Tight End Eli Stowers became the 36th recipient of the Campbell Trophy® during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2025.

Stowers graduated from New Mexico State in May 2024 as a Crimson Scholar (3.92 GPA) before earning his master's degree in finance from Vanderbilt in May 2025. He is continuing postgraduate studies in legal studies at Vanderbilt and has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and Dean's List three times.
 
On the field this season, Stowers leads all tight ends in the country in receiving yards and number of catches resulting in a first down, and he is also second in total receptions. His 2025 stats include 62 receptions for 769 yards and four touchdowns, including recording 100-yard games at No. 13 Texas and in a win against Auburn the following week. He finished with multiple catches in every game this fall, and he enters the postseason needing just six yards to post the most by a Dore tight end since 1996.
 
His efforts have helped the Commodores post the first-ever 10-win season in program history while also setting a school record with six SEC victories. Vanderbilt enters the postseason in the top 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings and the Associated Press and AFCA coaches' polls. Stowers will now lead the Dores against Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl on December 31, 2025, in Tampa, Florida.
 
Stowers is also a finalist for the John Mackey Award and a semifinalist for both the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. He was also a semifinalist for the 2025 Lombardi Award this fall.
 
A 2025 team captain and three-year letterman with stops at Texas A&M and New Mexico State, Stowers earned First Team All-SEC and Phil Steele Third Team All-America honors in 2024. Last season, he recorded 49 receptions for 638 yards and five touchdowns, ranking among the most productive seasons by a Vanderbilt tight end in nearly three decades. During the 2023 season at New Mexico State, he recorded 35 catches for 366 yards and two touchdowns. Also, playing quarterback during his career, he completed five passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Last season, he led the Commodores to their first winning season (7-6) and first bowl victory since 2013 with a Birmingham Bowl win. His play fueled Vanderbilt's first-ever win over a No. 1 team (Alabama) and first victory over Alabama since 1984. The Dores also notched their first road win at Auburn and first wins over both Alabama and Auburn in the same season since 1955. At New Mexico State, he guided the Aggies to a 10-3 regular season and a berth in the CUSA Championship Game.
 
Stowers has played an active role in Brother B's, an on-campus ministry; volunteered at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital; participated in Social Impact Day with the Pencil Foundation and Metro Nashville Public Schools; visited veterans' hospitals; and supported causes like the Dancing Dores fundraiser and the SAAC Holiday Party.
 
The Denton, Texas, native becomes the first Campbell Trophy^® winner from Vanderbilt. He is the school's fifth NFF National Scholar-Athlete, joining Wade Butcher (1961), Douglas Martin (1974), Andrew McCarroll (1989), Hunter Hillenmeyer (2002). He also becomes the 13th winner of the Campbell Trophy^® from a team currently in the SEC.