Linebacker Evan Eller enjoys his new-found freedom in Wyoming

LARAMIE– Evan Eller just won't go away.

The truth is, he doesn't want to leave. A smile creased his bearded face when asked Wednesday afternoon why he always seems to hang around the facility. One word immediately caught his eye: freedom.

He couldn't afford that luxury – or stubble – during his last four seasons at the Virginia Military Institute.

“You set up your bed, you line up and you go eat breakfast,” said Wyoming's newest linebacker, adding that this structured day starts promptly at 7 a.m. “You have classes, then you go to weight training, and then you have lineup in the afternoon. During football season, if practice goes a little longer, we eat around 8 p.m. Then you go back to your room and start doing homework and stuff.”

Sounds exhausting? It is.

Now imagine never having had the desire to join the military. That's the price Eller paid to get a full scholarship in his home state.

“That's why I came here and talked to all these people and I think this is the best place ever,” he added. “I couldn't ask for anything better.”

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Although VMI wasn't necessarily his first choice, the school stuck with him. Eller suffered a torn ACL during his senior year at Lord Botetourt High School. To make matters worse, doctors discovered blood clots in his throwing arm.

This devastating diagnosis, Eller said, ultimately saved his life.

“I lost a lot of my offers,” he said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic was also in full swing. “They were about one of five left and they showed that they cared a lot about me after I was injured. So they were close to home as well and I knew I could go there and play pretty quickly.”

“I wasn't looking for a military school or any kind of structure, but you know, that's just how it worked out for me.”

Eller has repaid this program in abundance.

The Roanoke native alternated between safety and linebacker and made 235 tackles in 40 games, including 106 of those last fall, which ranked him 16th in the entire FCS. Eller also added two forced fumbles and an interception.

These numbers caught the attention of Wyoming’s coaching staff. Jay Sawvel said this week that he is looking for an experienced linebacker to complement his roster.

He believes he has found the right man in Eller.

“Evan is doing really well. That was a huge win,” the Cowboys' new head coach said Tuesday. “When the guy has been a captain of a military academy twice, you can assume he's getting a pretty mature player. He's a really good player.”

Defensive Coordinator Aaron Bohl added that he saw some flashes of previous outstanding Easton Gibbs while watching Eller.

“I wish I had had him all four years,” he said.

Linebacker colleague Nic Talich is also a fan.

“Not only is he a good football player, he's a great guy,” he said of Eller. “I think he's going to make a big difference on the team. He's a real stud. I can't say enough good things about him.”

Jack Culbreath was Eller's teammate at VMI. They were in the same recruiting class and grew close during the four years they lived in the barracks.

He was at the forefront of Eller's groundbreaking career in Lexington, especially when it came to special teams play.

“Evan was really good,” said Culbreath, who also signed with Wyoming this spring. “He made so many great kickoff plays and was a special teams star. He had over 200 tackles, which is incredible. He's a great player and I'm excited to see what he can do here.”

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Unlike the Air Force, Army or Navy, new students are not required to join the military after graduation. Another unique aspect of VMI is the lack of a graduate school. That's another reason why players like Eller and Culbreath hit the open market last winter.

Eller planned ahead. He knew he would one day be looking for a new home, so he sped up the process and spent a semester abroad in Spain so he could get to that point sooner than he expected, diploma in hand. No matter what program he chose, he wanted to get a head start, learn the playbook and, most importantly, get to know his new teammates.

He figured it would likely happen at the University of Richmond, another FCS program located just under three hours from his hometown.

Then Bohl called.

Eller accepted.

“It's just a feeling like you're in the big city here,” he said of Wyoming. “The working-class work ethic is very similar to what I grew up in. The resume of the inside linebackers that came out of here kind of sold themselves right away. And then the coaches. They were just there for me and were willing to give me a chance, you know, even from the FCS school.”

“I'm still excited to see and experience the home environment for the first time. So, it's good. It's really good.”

– The 50 best football players at the University of Wyoming