Class of 2025 H-back/tight end Eli Owens had been committed to Michigan since January and officially made his dream of playing college football come true by signing with he Wolverines last week during the early signing period.

Owens was the second player to commit to the Wolverines’ class and became a strong advocate for the program and a savvy recruiter himself, taking numerous visits to Ann Arbor even after being committed while trying to convince other prospects to become future Wolverines.

Growing up in Tennessee, Owens grew up a Vols fan and remembers attending numerous games at Neyland Stadium during his childhood.

However, even with an offer from his home state school and many other Power 4 schools that extended an offer to him, Owens always felt like Michigan was the right spot for him.

“Every time I visited Michigan, I felt like nothing could compare,” Owens said. “That held true. I went to go visit all of these different places and do all of these different things, and at the end of the visits I would tell my Mom, ‘it’s cool but it’s not Michigan.’ It’s not what felt right for me. Just the way I fit into the (Michigan’s) program, the people—we’re all in the same mindset. We’re all guys who love to ball. Hopefully, one day we can get back where we need to be to perform at our best.”

When describing his game and how he plays, Owens said Michigan is getting a player willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win.

“Michigan is getting a hard-nosed football player who’s willing to do whatever it takes to win for his team and for his brothers,” Owens said. “I just like the game of football and whatever it entails, and I hope to be great one day.”

Owens said tight ends coach Steve Casula, head coach Sherrone Moore and the staff is expecting him to compete for the H-back role that has been held by Max Bredeson.

He will enroll early and take part in the team’s bowl practices and is ready for the challenge.

“They envision me—not necessarily as a Max Bredeson replacement, because I don’t know if you can ever replace Max Bredeson,” said Owens. “But, just kind of a guy who can step in to play any role, be very versatile and knock a couple heads loose if you need me to.”

When putting Owens’ film on, he shows great potential as a pass catcher, so fans shouldn’t be fooled into thinking he doesn’t have ability as a tight end.

But make no mistake about it—Owens loves to block and embraces being someone who can open up lanes for his teammates to run through.

“I like blocking more than I like catching it,” Owens said.

Through his recruiting process, Owens was able to create strong bonds with several of the other Michigan signees, but especially with Avery Gach and Bobby Kanka, who will be Owens’ roommates when they all get to campus in Ann Arbor.

“We’ve all visited Michigan like 45 times (between us),” Owens said. “They live right down the road, but we’ve created a bond, we’ve created a connection. We’re very similar personality wise. We come from similar backgrounds, and all three of us know we want to play early and do whatever we can. We’re going to work together, bond together and do whatever it takes to get each other on the field.”

Through those bonds made with other members of the class, Owens said he is excited for the future of the program with the guys they have coming in.

“I think we’re bringing guys in that know how to represent the program into the program,” Owens said. “In the coming years, we’re going to be the Michigan football of always. I think we have a great class coming in and I think we have great coaches that are going to make us even better players.”

From a personal standpoint, Owens said the decision to enroll early was “probably the easiest” decision he has ever made as he said the time he will get to spend around the team before next season really gets rolling will be valuable.

“Throughout this entire process, I knew I was going to graduate early and be on campus,” said Owens. “I just think it’s very important development wise to get an extra six months basically. Being able to adjust to the speed throughout the course of spring ball, get the offense learned and really try to find my place on the team before things really get rolling here right before camp starts.”

Owens has gotten to spend time with Bredeson and is eager to take in more information from the Michigan senior when he joins the team for bowl practices ahead of the Wolverines’ New Years Even matchup with Alabama.

“Max Bredeson is my favorite Michigan football player, just because he is someone I’ve gotten to spend time with and really developed a relationship with,” Owens said.

While Owens is ready for the next chapter of his football career, he had a historic one just recently close at Alcoa High School.

Owens helped lead his team to a state championship this past Friday. As a program, it was Alcoa’s 10th in a row and 23rd in school history.

Overall, Owens won six straight championships while in high school, including four in football and two in basketball.

More than the winning on the field, Owens said they always tried to make what they do about the community with Alcoa being a smaller town.

“We make everything we do about our community and about our people,” Owens said. “I think that’s what draws people in. It’s a family thing for me, my entire family graduated from Alcoa, even back to my grandparents. We’re people who love each other and love our football.”

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