Through Faith, Family, and Football: Eli Brown’s Journey to the Hill

Every college football player that has made it to the D-1 level has faced some kind of adversity. But adversity can come in many different forms. Just ask WKU Football redshirt-junior linebacker Eli Brown.

"I was blessed to come out of that situation because it’s taught me to put other people first before I put myself," Brown said.

The Kentucky Wildcats transfer is no stranger to overcoming challenges. He’s been dealing with adversity ever since he was a young kid growing up in Florida. 

"My family from the nitty gritty in Florida, man," said the Bowling Green native. "Most of them either strung up, locked up or dead."

One of his deceased family members is his mother. She passed away when Brown was just a 13-year-old eighth grader at Henry Moss Middle School in Bowling Green.

"I just went to the funeral and it was a numb feeling, like this can’t be real," Brown said. "You was just sitting there like this ain’t real. Then you actually went up and saw the body and be like, yo, this is real."

Brown had several sibling left behind who were now without a mother, and that included himself. Brown’s older brother was in jail at the time, which means at just 13-years-old, he had to take accountability for lives other than his own, all the while trying to focus on furthering his athletic career in football.

"I wake up every, and I come on this field, and the only thing that goes through my head is that I have to take care of my brothers and sisters," said Brown. "Everything I do is for them."

Brown is no stranger to the football scene in Bowling Green. He was a standout linebacker and running back for Warren East High School, coming out of high school as a four-star prospect. His success as a Raider paid off as he received multiple scholarship offers, including one from the University of Kentucky. But after two seasons in Lexington, Brown knew he needed to trade in his blue jersey for a red one, because being that far from his siblings just wasn’t working out for him.

"I knew I was going through so much that I had to come home regardless," Brown said. "No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I was never looking at other schools. I knew I had to come back home."

The Hill is what Brown now calls his home. And the change of scenery has been a blessing to both Brown and the entire linebacker unit for WKU.

"Everyone’s been welcoming to him, which has made him comfortable and allow him to be himself," said WKU Linebackers Coach Maurice Crum. "That kind of transitions on the field. We all play a certain way as a group, and we’re all able to be who we are. So it’s been awesome on both sides."

"I feel fresh. I feel like it’s a whole new Eli," Brown said about himself. "I’m not miserable. I’m actually smiling. You’ll see me walking around smiling. You could hardly see me last year with a smile on my face. Now I just have so much joy."

Brown’s journey up to this point has filled with many ups, but many downs. Despite that, he says he’s learned a lot. 

"Life is tough, man. That’s the one thing I’ve learn," said Brown "Life…you just never know what’s going to happen. You wake up and you just don’t know what happens. So I literally every day when I wake up, I just thank God. Man, I’m up. I need to do something more than what I did yesterday."

Now, Brown says he’s ready to put the past behind him and move forward. Giving his all on the field for both his family and his new team is how he’s planning on doing just that. 

"People are gonna see who grew up watching me play, people always used to watch Eli play…they’re gonna see the old Eli," he said. "Flying to the ball, going crazy-Eli. That’s what I’m excited to show everyone."

Brown will make his season debut in a Hilltopper uniform on Aug. 31 when WKU travels to Madison, Wis., to face the No. 4 Badgers in their 2018 season opener.