Nearly 300-pound HS QB goes viral for being tough to tackle
ST. LOUIS聽(BVM) 鈥� Meet Kyren Eleby, the 6-foot-2, 285-pound junior quarterback and first-year starter at St. Louis University High School (SLUH). The Junior Bills compete in , the state鈥檚 most competitive classification.聽
鈥淸In Week 1], they hit [Eleby] low, and he鈥檚 like, 鈥楥oach, they hit me low,鈥� and I鈥檓 like, 鈥楤uddy, I would,鈥欌�� Adam Cruz, SLUH鈥檚 head football coach told KSDK News in the
Eleby may look more like a lineman than a quarterback, but he leverages that to his advantage on the field.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 not easy to tackle, and bulldozing defenders 鈥� that comes naturally when I run the ball,鈥� Eleby told 海角社区.聽
Despite online comments suggesting he should switch to the defensive line, Eleby is determined to pursue his dreams at the QB position.聽聽聽
鈥淚 was a quarterback in middle school, and I am a quarterback in high school, and I will be a quarterback in college,鈥� Eleby said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not looking to change my position despite what others may say. My ultimate goal is to make it to the NFL.鈥�
Notably, the is Jared Lorenzen, who weighed in at a similar 285 pounds.聽聽
鈥淗e鈥檚 a big fella鈥� at 6-foot-2, 285 pounds 鈥� but that doesn鈥檛 stop him from reading defenses really well,鈥� coach Cruz told 海角社区. 鈥淗e is smart and has really good accuracy on both short term balls and long term balls. He stands in the pocket, and a part of that is his bigger size.鈥澛�
Coach Cruz also pointed to Eleby鈥檚 鈥渃anon arm,鈥� shown in the highlight clips below.聽
Kyren Eleby () can run the ball and launch it into another zip code.
Great catch made by
— tim godfrey (@timgodfrey_)
Had a great time throwing at the Lindenwood Mega Camp yesterday
— Kyren Eleby (@Sl3pt0n_2fr3sh)
Eleby doesn鈥檛 have college offers yet, but he鈥檚 hoping that鈥檒l change soon.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 a pretty big guy, so it鈥檚 pretty hard for people not to notice it,鈥� Eleby said. 鈥淏ut putting that aside, I just want people to notice the way I play the game. See the reason why I make the throws that I make. Overall just playing the quarterback position the right way.鈥�
Coach Cruz acknowledged that he鈥檚 proud of Eleby for breaking the mold of what the typical quarterback looks like.聽
鈥淚 admire how he handles the (weight) comments because I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檇 be able to if I was 17,鈥� coach Cruz said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, I don鈥檛 feel very comfortable talking about a 17 year old鈥檚 weight like this. He鈥檚 just a kid. But he and I know this will help his recruiting because it鈥檚 bringing him attention 鈥� so now people can really see his true talents.鈥�
Eleby noted, 鈥淚 believe that if you can play a position the right way, you should be able to play it no matter how you look.鈥澛�
Through three games this 2024 season, Eleby has completed 50 of 90 passes for 553 yards, with three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. SLUH鈥檚 most recent loss was to De Smet Jesuit, ranked as one of the
鈥淗is ceiling is super high, especially from a bloodline perspective since there鈥檚 a lot of talent in the family,鈥� coach Cruz said.
Kyren Eleby has two older brothers who play quarterback. was the starting quarterback for Western Michigan. Another older brother, , is the QB for Pattonville High School. Notably, younger brother Kaiden is a sophomore starting right tackle at SLUH.聽聽
鈥淜yren does all the right things when it comes to being a leader,鈥� coach Cruz said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had conversations that if he does want to play QB at the college level, he鈥檚 going to need to work on his fitness and getting in shape.鈥澛犅犅�
