Kaleb Eleby: Path To The NFL Draft

By Simon Carroll

The 2022 NFL Draft class has had it’s fair share of detractors, partcularly at the quarterback position. Much like scouting itself, that is very much a subjective opinion; at the very least we know that there are a number of QB’s entering this year’s draft, and each will have their admirers. And much like in years past, it may very well be the one that people overlook that has the best career of them all.

One such name not necessarily on everyone’s lips right now is that of Kaleb Eleby. As I sit down with him to discuss his path to the NFL Draft, one thing is very apparent; sleep on him at your peril:

"Let The Main Thing Be The Main Thing"

Kaleb At Pattonville. Credit: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Many of history’s greatest sporting icons share a common trait. I’m not referring to determination, which of course any successful athlete must have. Nor am I speaking of natural aptitude, without which a career would not exist. Those that are able to produce at a high level possess a single-mindedness when it comes to honing their craft; the ability to cut out the noise, keep focus on the ultimate goal, and make sure that everything they do in some way helps them to achieve that goal in the future. In Kaleb Eleby’s own words, “let the main thing be the main thing”.

Eleby is as composed and as comfortable over a zoom interview as he is in the pocket. An affable, friendly man by nature, he immediately puts you at ease with a big smile, yet you feel a calm relentlessness about him that he relies upon to improve day in, day out. It’s all borne out of a love for football that he wants to be the best he can be, for as long as he can be. According to Eleby, that love for the game came from an early age:

“We have a little joke in my family that I was born with a football in my hand. At a young age, ever since I was able to play football, I fell in love with the game, and as I watched football I fell in love with the quarterbacks. Just how they operated; besides the center they’re the only ones who touch the ball on every play. I wanted to be a quarterback, and I quickly learned my dream was to become an NFL quarterback. And to now be in a position to go to the combine and potentially make that dream come true is a blessing.”

Eleby calls it a dream, but it feels more like a mission. Having that ambition from an early age allowed him to focus in on mastering the quarterback position, and like many draft prospects he had a standout high school career. From St. Louis, Missouri, Kaleb attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, where he put up incredible numbers in pursuit of his ambition. 95 touchdowns and 10,000 yards in his high school career had plenty of college football programs take notice…

A Different Perspective

Kaleb Eleby was blessed to receive a number of scholarship offers on the back of his high school football exploits. He was recruited by a couple of Power 5 programs, including Illinois (just a three hour drive away) and Iowa State, who both ended up in his ‘top three’ as he made his choice. Yet surprisingly, Eleby decided to sign a letter of intent with Western Michigan, a Group of Five program in the Mid American Conference (MAC):

“Throughout my time at high school I learned a lot. Pattonville was good to me; a great education, and coaches very influential in my life, helping me get recruited. They told me to just focus on my football, get good grades, and the rest will come. And that’s what I did – not many people know this, but I graduated high school early. And I focused on leading the team and growing as a person, and letting the rest take care of itself. And yeah, I turned down some big offers, including Illinois and Iowa State, which was actually my first offer as a sophomore. But Western Michigan was just somewhere where I felt comfortable. It felt like home, a place where I could do the same things I did at Pattonville, I could do at WMU. Help build a program, grow as an individual both on and off the field, and create lifelong memories – and I did just that.”

It’s hard to explain the self-confidence it takes for a young man – who harbours a dream to become an NFL quarterback – to turn down a Power 5 opportunity in favour of a perceived smaller, Group of 5 program. But I’m fast learning that Kaleb Eleby isn’t cut from the same cloth as your average draft prospect. As someone with unwavering focus on his goal, ultimately Eleby was convinced that he would succeed and be noticed wherever he played football, and Western Michigan offered him the best environment to do so. With their QB at the helm, The Broncos would show the world they had the talent to go toe to toe with anyone.

A Family Man

Kaleb with his family at Western Michigan Spring Practice. Credit: Twitter (@K_Eleby5)

One look at Kaleb Eleby’s timeline tells you that he is a big family man. In one of his first spring practices, family members made the 8-hour drive from St. Louis to Kalamazoo to support him. That family structure and support network is something Kaleb is grateful for and keen to talk about:

“I’d like to share something with you. Not too many people know this, but the reason I wear number 5 is that I’m the oldest of five boys. So five just means something to me. People call me just ‘K’, because everyone’s name in my family begins with K, starting with my mother Kenyatte, myself, and my four brothers. So having the five Eleby boys, the K, it just means a lot to me. That picture of me at spring practice is one of my favourites; my grandmother was in that picture, my auntie and my brothers, so just to see the support and the love that I had, not just then but through the whole of my collegiate career is something that I never took for granted and something I’m extremely grateful for. Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

Getting His Feet Wet

Credit: Al Goldis (Associated Press)

Arriving in Kalamazoo, Kaleb Eleby begins his Broncos career as the backup to entrenched starter Jon Wassink. But as a true freshman he gets his first taste of college football for the final five games of the season when Wassink goes down injured. It proved to be something of a baptism of fire as Western Michigan goes 1-4 over that stretch. But for Eleby, it was vital experience to prepare him for the starting job down the line:

“Playing as a true freshman – like I said I never take anything for granted, and it was truly a blessing. I learnt a lot from Jon (Wassink) at that time, he was a great leader, a good guy to learn from. And it shows the importance of good coaching as well; Coach Evans and Coach Lester did a good job of preparing me. But I was young at that time, and I had to go out there and make them freshman mistakes, get some game experience and really learn what it’s all about. And I feel that exposure definitely allowed me to improve later on in my career.”

But for now, Eleby would have to wait. With Wassink returning from injury to reclaim the starting job, Kaleb was redshirted for the 2019 season. After getting game time in year one, it must have felt like a backwards step for the young star. Yet in what was probably the first moment of adversity in his career, Eleby retained that laser focus and turned it to his advantage:

“It was tough. I had to go from getting gametime, to being on the sideline. I had to remember how to be happy for Jon Wassink and the team, and how to contribute without being on the field. That sophomore season helped a lot as far as my leadership goes; leading from the sidelines, commanding my teammates’ respect, was very important. It was hard at first, but looking back it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”

“One of my biggest motto’s is ‘try to be better than I was yesterday’.  I’m improving everyday, leading by example, and trying to get the people around me to do the same. And I believe I did that consistently. Being consistent is hard, but it’s what separates guys. Again, it’s keeping the main thing, the main thing. And when you look back over time and you can see the growth from that effort and consistency, I think that’s what’s most important.”

Inspirations, Coaches & Teammates

Credit: Al Goldis (Associated Press)

As well as his family, Kaleb Eleby is quick to praise the coaches that helped him throughout his football journey. One such coach is Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester, who was something of a QB legend at Kalamazoo himself in the late nineties, setting no less than seventeen school records during his time under center. Now back as head coach of The Broncos, Lester actually recruited Eleby to the program, and the mere mention of his coaches name brings a smile to Kaleb’s face:

“Coach Lester was a great coach, and I am definitely grateful for the opportunity and the scholarship offer he gave me. He recruited me, and obviously being a former quarterback was a big deal – having a former QB as your coach is always great, just the simple stuff like hanging out on the sidelines and having what we’d call ‘QB talk’, it was fun. It was exciting to have someone you were able to connect with, who understood the things you were going through at that time, the ups and downs. Having that Bronco connection, that brotherhood, was amazing.”

Eleby is similarly full of admiration for his teammates. The coaching staff at Western Michigan must be hellish recruiters, as the Broncos were able to surround Eleby with some fantastic weapons, including the likes of the now NFL wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge (Seattle Seahawks), fellow 2022 NFL Draft prospect Skyy Moore, and Jaylen Hall, who recently transferred to Western Kentucky. Kaleb, for one, appreciated the work ethic as much as the talent that those three teammates provided to the offense:

“Those three guys, they all had one thing in common; they brought it every day. They wanted to improve, they focused on that one percent each day. And not just those guys – the whole team. We had a great team; a veteran offensive line, those guys at reciever, talented backs, a stout defense. It was a great couple of years, and the best thing was we all cared about one another. And it’s so simple, so small, but very unique in the way that translates to the field. A lot of the more successful teams are the ones that are closest together. Throughout the hard work, the extra hours, staying after practice, extra time in the film room, those things pay off. Hard work always pays off, and when it does it’s rewarding, humbling, and makes you want to go even farther.”

Eleby Time

Credit: Michael Allio (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

No season epitomised the culmination of that work ethic for Kaleb Eleby more than 2020, where you could legitimately say he was one of the best quarterbacks in the NCAA. In a season blighted by COVID, where football was anything but guaranteed, Eleby balled out; the MAC ultimately had a shortened season, but in six games the new starting quarterback threw for 1,700 yards, 18 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Yet despite the personal success, Kaleb was just grateful that he got to play football at all:

“2020 was a crazy year. Football was taken away from us at one point. Our season was cancelled at one point. We were able to step out onto the field but there was a lot of guys out there that really didn’t have a season. Being able to play the game that I love, albeit just six opportunities – I was grateful for every one of those. Without those games things could look very different for me right now. That season really showed the discipline that I had, and the leadership I had too – we were away from each other, everyone spread out keeping safe, but keeping our focus. Working hard across zoom meetings, checking in with my teammates, making sure everyone is okay. Working through the playbook etc; doing everything we could despite the difficult circumstances to have that success on the field.”

More of the same personal success was to follow for Eleby in 2021 as he truly cemented himself as the standout quarterback in the conference. Yet despite leading Western Michigan to only their second bowl victory in school history, you feel a tinge of regret from him that he wasn’t able to have more team success during his time in Kalamazoo:

“As good of a year as some may think, I feel like we still fell short of our ultimate goal, which was to win a MAC Championship. We were talented enough to do that. And in my opinion, it’s one we should have had. But to be able to write our names in Bronco history with the bowl win, that’s something special to be a part of. To have the game in Detroit in front of our Michigan fans, it was a surreal moment. I was excited for the Western Michigan community, the alumni, to be able to come back and share that moment with us, to be able to bring home a trophy – it was a very cool moment. I still think about that game, the plays we made, and being on the field with the guys one last time.”

Preparing For The Future

Following on from the 2021 season, Kaleb Eleby declared for the NFL Draft. As a redshirt sophomore Eleby was ineligible to participate in showcase events such as the Senior Bowl, but he’s been working out with QB Country, a famed training program that has helped numerous quarterbacks acclimate to the next level. He’s also been blessed to have been invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis which kicks off at the end of this month. Exposure like that will give Eleby an opportunity to show NFL scouts that he belongs amongst the elite quarterbacks in this class, that perhaps his college career didn’t allow.

Following on from that, he’ll further get to showcase his talents at the Western Michigan pro day – something Eleby says “will be cool to step into the Bronco Stadium one last time”. But the truth is, the evidence you need to see that this quarterback can make it in the NFL is all on tape, with the pads on and the lights the brightest. The live arm, release, touch, anticipation and ball security are all there, and the numbers show that.

One question I did raise was a perceived lack of mobility to his game when the NFL is more and more turning to dual threat quarterbacks. Likely asked this before, Eleby had a resolute look about him as he emphatically answered:

“I don’t look at myself as one-dimensional. Just being smart with the football, my job as the quarterback is to deliver the ball to my playmakers. As far as all the crazy jukes, the spin moves, I try to leave that to the running backs and receivers – they’re a bigger threat with the ball in their hands than I am as far as running goes. And I’m aware of that. So again, deliver the ball to who it needs to go to, when it needs to get there, and how it needs to get there. And I do that as best as I can do.”

It’s a competitive answer, one that almost challenges people to doubt his game and it’s suitability at the next level. And if you watch the biggest games of his career, you see a similar commitment and determination to prove people wrong. Some of Eleby’s finest performances came in the toughest spots, such as the opening day defeat at playoff-bound Michigan or the trip to Pitt, where the Broncos shocked presumed first round pick Kenny Pickett and the future ACC Champions. Eleby threw three touchdown passes in that game. Asked what it would mean to him to hear his name called on draft weekend, Eleby admits it’s something he’s thought about:

“I’m gonna be honest with you, I was just thinking about that on the car ride home. To be blessed with the opportunity to be drafted? It would be a dream come true. All the sacrifices that my parents made in order for that to happen, the advice my coaches have given me, all the things the people in my inner circle have done to get to this point, it will be rewarding. It’s a moment I look forward to”.

After the interview ends we chat for a while and talk about his game. In a peek behind the curtain, Eleby displays that single-mindedness that has served him so well when he tells me “I’m gonna surprise a few people”.

Keep letting the main thing be the main thing, and I do not doubt it.

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

HEAD OF CFB/NFL DRAFT CONTENT

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST.

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A huge thank you to Kaleb for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchown wishes him well in his future career.