Eli Huggins Possesses Intangibles Unmeasurable by NFL Scouts
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will kick off on January 28th in Pasadena, California. A showcase of some of the top players available in the 2023 NFL Draft.
"I'm super excited to get there," Kansas State nose guard Eli Huggins said. "I've never been out to California before. Just excited to show off my talents."
A team captain during K-State's Big 12 Championship run in 2022, Huggins is not in short supply of talent.
Huggins had a wide variety of talents to show off growing up in Cumming, Georgia. Football was just another sport woven into the fabric of all the activities he dedicated himself to as an adolescent.
"Growing up, I played a lot of sports," Huggins said.
"Played basketball. I was actually a competitive bass fisherman. So, growing up, I kind of tried to do as much as I could. I loved all of them equally. As I started to get older, it seemed like football was probably my best sport and my best opportunity going forward."
Despite his background and expertise in bass fishing.
NFL personnel attending the all-star event will not be scribbling notes on Huggins' 'backcast' (i.e., which is the portion of the casting motion in which the angler brings the rod tip back sharply).
Nor will they quiz him on his use of the 'Alabama rig' unless it was a nickname for a defensive front frequently executed by the Wildcats' defense.
Scouts are simply going to focus on Huggins as an interior defensive lineman facing some of the top college talents in the country.
The Kansas State's six-year performer has a game resembling a blue-collar mentality. Despite earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades this past season, his game is based on the simplest of qualities.
Toughness and smarts.
"I had an interesting career, and I wouldn't change it for anything," Huggins said. "It wasn't like I showed up day one as some stud. It took years of work and perseverance to get to where I am."
That is why the invitation to play on January 28th has had such an impact on Huggins.
"It was super exciting," Huggins said. "At the end of the season, I wasn't sure if I was going to get invited to a game or not. I was really hoping it was going to happen.
"It was a goal of mine. Having that opportunity means a lot to me. It sort of verifies and makes me realize that all the work I've been doing has not been going unnoticed. That means a lot to me."
Guys like Huggins are some of the most entertaining individuals to watch on tape. In the trenches is where the nastiness of the game is exposed on every play at its very best, and Huggins spent his career in this environment.
It helped mold and shape him into the player he is today.
"The biggest part of my game is - I'm just tough," Huggins said. "I say that as humbling as possible.
"I play a really tough position playing that nose guard spot. You're getting double or triple-teamed every single play. I think if you watch the film, then you just see a guy who is never going to give. He is going to give great effort in every single play. That's the standard. There are no if and or butts about that.
"I have a high motor and just don't make mistakes. I like to pride myself on being a smart player. I had a great coach at Kansas State, Mike Tuiasosopo. He says the good players react to what they see. The great players know it is going to happen. Before the play even happens. That is sort of something that stuck with me when he first got there four years ago. I've just tried to learn as much about the game as I could and know as much as possible before the play even happens."
Coach Tuiasosopo's tip resonated with Huggins.
It became his calling card of how he would develop his own game moving forward. He would become a foundation for the Wildcats' defense. His role as a team captain validated his execution of Tuiasosopo's message.
"I'm definitely chatty with my teammates," Huggins said. "Making sure everyone knows what's going on. What the situation is and to make sure they are in the right spot. Know their responsibilities. Then I'm locked in. Those final two or three seconds before a play, I'm locked in and just ready to roll."
Huggins is going to be ready to roll in Los Angeles.
He is ready to show NFL teams he can make the 53-man roster via the NFL Draft or as an undrafted priority free agent.
Training in Nashville, Tennessee, at X3 Performance, Huggins will leave the facility on January 22nd to begin his week-long audition in front of NFL scouts. The things scouts have seen on tape are what got Huggins here.
Scouts have taken notice of the high motor and toughness. One of Huggins' biggest assets is his 'heart,' which scouts cannot measure, and there is no stopwatch or tape measure to gauge what lies inside.
The nose guard receives little fanfare.
An edge rusher will be in the spotlight for sacking the quarterback, while the nose guard doesn't get much attention for plugging their gap and occupying a couple of offensive linemen.
These all-star games allow individual athletes to display other aspects of their game. Different parts of their abilities that have remained off the film that scouts treasure.
"I want to show that I'm capable of being a good pass rusher," Huggins said. "Often times we ran a three-down front at Kansas State the last few years.
"It can be a little difficult to pass rush with three guys against five. Maybe they keep a back or tight end in for protection, and now you're facing six. I'm just excited to show I'm not just a good run player, but I'm also capable of rushing the passer."
So, during the week of NFLPA Collegiate Bowl practices, Huggins might go unnoticed by the media. Not a lot may be written about a 6-foot-5- and 300-pound man sandwiched in the middle of edge rushers.
Huggins' first step towards a career in the NFL is a solid week at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl to jump-start the draft buzz.
