It was April 9th when senior linebacker Eli Brown announced he was being granted a medical redshirt after he suffered a season-ending injury in spring camp prior to the 2019 season.
The Bowling Green native took to twitter with the news that he would be returning to The Hill for one more season.
Rewind back to 2014. Brown was rated a four-star prospect by Rivals, the 23rd overall in the nation at his position and second overall in Kentucky.
Brown played his high school ball at Warren East High School, located just under 15 minutes from Houchens-Smith Stadium, the home of the Hilltoppers. Before making his way back to Bowling Green at WKU, Brown committed to the University of Kentucky on April 22nd, 2014.
At Kentucky, Brown appeared in 22 games and registered 62 tackles after redshirting his freshman season in 2015. As a sophomore in 2017, Brown showed his capability to make plays against SEC opponents as he had six tackles and one tackle for loss against South Carolina that season.
After transferring to WKU for his redshirt junior season, Brown recorded 25 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and two sacks in 11 games for the Hilltoppers in 2018. In that season's rivalry game between WKU and Marshall, Brown had his best game as a Hilltopper, racking up five tackles, one for loss and one pass breakup.
Going into this season it was certain Brown would provide depth and a key role at outside linebacker for the Hilltoppers. He has done just that so far.
In the season opener against Louisville, Brown tallied eight tackles, five solo and one for loss in WKU's 35-21 defeat at Cardinal Stadium. Although not emerging victorious, the Bowling Green native had nothing but positive things to say about his return to the field.
"It was exactly what I needed...it's been a while...it's been a long time since I took the field," Brown said. "When I touched the field I was going full speed the whole time. It felt great, I got to play in front of my family again. It was everything I needed."
A week later, Brown got to play his first game in front if his hometown since 2018 in another tough loss for the Hilltoppers, 30-24 at the hands of Liberty. Going into the game he reflected on how important it was to get to play in front of his peers.
"It's everything I've been waiting on...the fact that all my old coaches, teammates, are always hitting me up, telling me they can't wait to watch me play...the fact that I'm about to play in front my home, bowling green, my city, I'm going to have to give it the best game I got," Brown said.
Despite Brown only recording three tackles in the loss, the climb back to being active was all he needed to prove the naysayers wrong.
"A lot of people counted me out, because I tore an ACL...and an achilles," Brown said. "Now it's just like proving a point...everybody just forgot about Eli Brown."
Bouncing back from numerous injuries over the course of high school and college is tough for any athlete, but the 6-foot-2 220-pound defender always kept his mind on what mattered most.
"You go down a dark path for a while...is it worth it...do I want to put my body through this?" Brown said. "Then you have to sit back and realize why you're playing the sport you love...it's all I know...it's all I care about. There was no question about me coming back...one thing I wanted to do is leave a stamp on the city of Bowling Green."
Coming back to his hometown, along with using his rehabilitation time, effectively have reaped rewards for Brown. He is starting at outside linebacker for the Hilltoppers this season and is in the best shape of his life.
"Before the corona(virus) hit...I got up to 225...and that's the heaviest I've been since I've been in college...it felt great," Brown said.
Catch No. 32 and the rest of WKU in action Saturday as they take on Middle Tennessee State in the 69th meeting of the "100 Miles of Hate" series between the Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders. Kickoff at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee is set for 4 PM central time.
