To outsiders, it would seem like Eldra Buckley is in for the fight of his life. To insiders, that’s anything but the case.
The Eagles essentially have four running backs competing for three spots. Two of those backs, Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy, have guaranteed roster spots, leaving Buckley battling with incumbent Lorenzo Booker for one position.
All the while, Buckley is learning a new offense. He spent the last two seasons on the Chargers’ practice squad and this might be his best chance to finally make an NFL team.
But despite the heat of Lehigh and the pressure that comes with being a fringe NFL player, this won’t be the toughest obstacle Buckley has had to overcome. He crossed that off his checklist more than a decade ago.
As a sixth grader, Buckley lost his mother, Diane, to a brain aneurism. His whole life was changed forever, to say the least.
“It just let me know that you can’t use excuses,” he said. “No excuses. No regrets. You’ve just gotta go out there and do everything as hard as you can and it’ll be OK.”
Buckley, 24, admits that not a day goes by when he doesn’t think about his mom.
“She’s out here with me every day,” he said, “but I can’t let that be a reason why I didn’t do everything I can do. I just have to keep going. (Things like that) happen in life every day.”
Buckley, of course, is right. Horrible things happen to good people all the time. But as a pre-teen, it certainly wasn’t easy to view it that way.
“I had to be a man,” said Buckley, who got through the trying time thanks to a lot of love from his father, James, and younger brother, Marcus. “(My dad has) been instrumental in my life. That was one way I was able to get over her.”
As the years went on, James watched Eldra become a star running back for Charleston High School in Mississippi. Eldra later went on to Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he finished fourth on the school’s all-time rushing list in only two seasons.
And now, after two years spent trying to crack a lineup that featured LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner and Darren Sproles, Buckley finally has what he’s always needed.
An opportunity.
“I feel real good (so far),” said Buckley, who stands 5-foot-9, 207 pounds. “It’s a good camp. We’re out there having fun.”
For a player like Buckley, not many things are more fun than hearing the coaches heap praise upon you.
“In minicamps, I thought, 'This guy might be a pretty good player,’” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. “And then you get him out with the pads on and he's even better then he is in minicamps. We all thought that might be the case, and he's having an excellent camp.”
Somewhere, Diane Buckley is smiling.
“I love her to death, but she can’t live this life for me,” Eldra concluded, smiling at the thought of his biggest fan. “But I want to (make this team) for myself. I’ve worked really hard and I want to do it for myself.”
Yes, but that being said…
“I know she’s proud of me.”
