Western Michigan QB Kaleb Eleby has taken unique path to NFL Draft
Editor’s note: QB Kaley Eleby signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent on April 30.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (BVM) – From a young age, Kaleb Eleby knew he wanted to play professional football. Soon, that dream is going to become a reality.
Eleby is coming off a tremendous redshirt sophomore season at Western Michigan in which he threw for 3,277 yards, 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Eleby’s performance led the Broncos to an 8-5 record and a 52-24 win over Nevada at the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit – just the program’s second-ever bowl win.
The Broncos are the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl Champions!!! 🏆 🏆 🏆 #LetsRide // #QLB2021 pic.twitter.com/eaJfMTg8T0
— Western Michigan Football (@WMU_Football) December 27, 2021
“I think that was our 11th ever bowl game and we only won one before,” Western Michigan pass game coordinator and running backs coach Eric Evans said. “To come out there and lead our offense to victory against a Nevada team and win our second-ever bowl game … I think that win in the Quick Lane Bowl really accelerated this program and really set the bar for years to come. Hopefully that’s the bowl win that really launches Western Michigan to another level.”
Perhaps making the campaign even more impressive was the fact that it was Eleby’s first complete season as a starter for Western Michigan. A variety of factors led to a windy road to get to this point for Eleby, but it may soon pay off.
Playing at Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri, Eleby threw for nearly 10,000 career yards and 95 career touchdowns. In his senior season, the three-sport athlete threw for 2,831 yards and 27 touchdowns, leading the Pirates to the MSHSAA Class 5A state championship game.
Setting every Pattonville program passing record over his high school career, Eleby was named Missouri Class 5A Player of the Year and first team all-state as a senior. While recruiting the No. 9 player in his class out of Missouri, it was no secret to Evans or others that his talent jumped off the page.
“I actually recruited Kaleb,” Evans said. “Seeing him live during the recruiting process, felt like he was pretty darn talented.”
Raised by a single mom and the oldest of four brothers, Eleby comes from a tight-knit family, and one that has always bonded over the sport of football. So, it was no surprise to see him pursue his dreams of playing at the next level.
Eleby had a few different options of where he could’ve played, including holding offers from Iowa State and Illinois. However, it was Western Michigan that ultimately stood out. After enrolling early in the spring, Eleby’s talent was evident right away to all of his coaches.
“At that point, he pretty much accelerated into our backup quarterback position about three days into camp,” Evans said. “His arm talent was immediate. Right off the bat, you knew he could spin it, he could make all the throws. It wasn’t if he was going to be the starter, it was when he was going to be the starter.”
Typically, college freshman quarterbacks are given at least their first year to study the game and adapt to the college level. For Eleby, he was given just games before being thrust into the action when Broncos’ starter Jon Wassink got injured midway through the 2018 season.
Eleby ended up throwing for over 1,000 yards across the action he saw in the last five games of the campaign, adding seven total touchdowns. While there certainly were growing pains, Eleby’s ability to handle what was a difficult situation was impressive.
“He got thrown into the fire,” Evans said. “In the five games that he played that freshman year, I would say three of the five games, statistically, he had monster games. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite translate into wins. For him, it was able to give him some confidence that, you can perform at this level, at a high level, but we got a ways to go in terms of decision-making, being consistent and what it takes to win a football game.”
With Wassink returning in 2019, Eleby was redshirted. Still, it was during that time that Evans noticed some of the quarterback’s greatest improvement.
“It was a tremendous learning year for Kaleb,” Evans said. “When Kaleb played in high school, he played all four years. In college, it was really the first time in his career that he had to sit behind someone, and he learned to be happy for someone else. I think Kaleb would tell you that was the greatest experience for him that year … He really learned, grew and matured, and I feel like he started understanding coverages and our system that much better. Even though you didn’t see him in that stat book, I think it was a tremendous growth year for him.”
In 2020, Eleby was prepared to take over the starting role again for the Broncos. However, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) season was postponed and shortened to just six games. Again staring some adversity in the face, Eleby thrived.
As a third team All-MAC player, Eleby had an impressive season, throwing for multiple touchdowns in five of six contests and finishing third in FBS passer rating behind only 2021 first-round NFL Draft picks Zach Wilson and Mac Jones. He totaled nearly 1,700 passing yards and 18 touchdowns during the season with eventual 2021 Seahawks’ draft pick D’Wayne Eskridge out wide. Though a small sample size, the performance helped Eleby get further noticed.
“He had to go out and prove himself,” Evans said. “Obviously the season was up and down in terms of we were going to play, then Covid canceled it, then we were back on. But Kaleb never stopped preparing … Those six games really proved to him that he knows how to win games now, knows how to lead a team and really gave him confidence that perhaps he was one of the elite quarterbacks in the country that people were going to start talking about.”
His stellar play continued during the fall of 2021, and that is what has him here as a likely middle-round NFL Draft pick. In January, Eleby decided to officially declare for the draft.
Dreams 2 Reality ..🖤
Hebrews 11:1 pic.twitter.com/YLFl8CTfrI
— Kaleb Eleby5️⃣ (@K_Eleby5) January 4, 2022
Playing alongside another likely draft pick in wide receiver Skyy Moore, Eleby had some truly impressive performances in 2021, perhaps none more than when he outdueled projected first-round pick Kenny Pickett and Pitt, throwing for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-41 victory.
“The leadership really accelerated last season,” Evans said. “An incredible win last year over Pitt, and it wasn’t just a win over Pitt. For him to go head-to-head against him [Pickett], if you’re a fan of offensive football, you saw one of the best offensive games in college football last year with two elite quarterbacks going head-to-head. Kaleb ended up getting the best of it that game, but the thing that really stood out to me about Kaleb in that game was the accuracy of throws under duress … He had what I think is probably the best game that he’s ever had in his college career and he did it against probably the best quarterback that he’s ever competed against.”
Not only did Eleby’s leadership show on the field, but it was happening behind the scenes as well. At the end of last spring prior to his senior season, Eleby decided to get in extra strength sessions a couple of times a week. Soon after, he recruited a handful of teammates to join him, and it took off from there. By summer, the quarterback had his entire team doing workouts that were not required by coaches, just simply because he reached out and wanted he and his teammates to become better.
The 6-foot-1 quarterback has continued to show leadership but also his pure talent throughout the last couple of months, displaying an impressive deep ball at the NFL Combine and also impressing at Western Michigan’s pro day. For Evans, it has further vindicated what he already knew: Eleby is one of the best he’s ever coached.
Kaleb Eleby & Skyy Moore with the 40yd connection at their Pro Day 🐎@WMU_Footballpic.twitter.com/fbQ7Ct0XuZ
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 15, 2022
“Kaleb is a guy that I will never bet against,” Evans said. “When the chips are down, Kaleb always seems to rise to the occasion. I have a special relationship with Kaleb because I recruited him and spent all four years with him as his coach. I saw him grow tremendously as a person and as a football player. In terms of arm talent, arm strength and accuracy, he is the best that I’ve ever been around, the best I’ve ever coached.”
The quarterback is just one of many talents Western Michigan has seen as of late, with several Broncos reaching the NFL. With Eleby and Moore likely to be selected in this year’s class after Eskridge was drafted in the second round last year, the Western Michigan program continues to get noticed.
“We’ve been fortunate, we’ve had a number of guys who’ve gone on to play at the next level,” Evans said. “For Kaleb and Dee and Skyy, for those three guys to play together and play at a high level here, I think it shows that no matter where you play, if you’re good enough, the NFL is going to find you … There’s a place for people and a time to be selected and it’s exciting times for Kaleb and Skyy right now.”
Eleby will almost certainly not hear his name called on the opening night of the draft, and possibly will not be taken on day two either. Scouts do still see some flaws in his game, whether that be limited mobility, mechanics or field vision.
However, Eleby has a truly strong arm, and combined with his ability to efficiently run an offense, he has risen up draft boards, being coined as a “dark horse” player in this year’s draft.
“He’s a guy who has an incredibly high ceiling,” Evans said. “There’s more to get out of him. I think that he can be developed at the next level and he can continue to learn and to grow. He just needs someone to invest in him and hopefully that’s going to happen to him.”
The dark horse label is something Eleby could have also been given throughout his college career. Despite taking a unique path to get here, Eleby has proved to have an “it” factor throughout high school and college. With continued work and effort, that may just translate into a successful pro career for the quarterback.
“In any situation at the next level, you want to be in the right situation,” Evans said. “I think what you’re getting in Kaleb is a competitor, somebody who is going to compete on a daily basis and isn’t afraid to compete with the best of the best. I think the arm talent for the NFL is there, but I also think there is someone who is willing and eager to learn at the next level. I think the right fit for him is getting to an established program … I think if you can have some patience, develop him and work with him for a couple years, I think he could eventually become the face of your franchise.”
