At first glance, soft wouldn’t be a word used to describe junior tight end Nick Eller.

His hands are the only thing baby-soft on the otherwise hard-nosed 6-foot-3, 273-pound Iowa native.

And it’s paid plenty of dividends. Eller caught eight passes for 112 yards and one touchdown Saturday in the Panthers 44-27 win at Cape Girardeau, Mo., the touchdown, a 36-yarder from senior Tony Romo, secured the win. Eller is this weeks Top Cat.

“I wasn’t really even going for the touchdown,” Eller said. “I was just hoping to catch it so we could get the first down and run the clock out. Its the longest run I’ve ever had.”

But Eller is used to being on the other side of the ball.

In high school at Hubbard-Ratcliffe, about 45 miles northeast of Des Moines, Eller was a standout quarterback.

“I think it has helped me a little bit as a tight end,” he said. “I know where I have to be to make a catch.”

And now Eller stands out from the pack at tight end. Panther head coach Bob Spoo needed to fill the hole left by graduating tight ends Gil Davis and Scott Gilkey.

Spoo typically doesn’t recruit junior college transfers unless there is a need that must be fulfilled immediately.

“He’s more than filled that hole,” Spoo said. “He’s just been a great asset to this team this year.”

Eller was pursued by other I-AA schools in Illinois and Iowa, but chose Eastern because of a promise the Panthers made to him.

“The other schools were looking for him to play

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defensive tackle,” Spoo said. “I don’t really think that’s what he wanted. We made a promise to him that he’d play tight end. We held up our end of the bargain and he’s certainly lived up to his end.”

Don’t dare confuse Eller for the Randy Moss type. The soft-spoken junior would rather not talk about all the catches he’s made and thrown. He said he enjoys making a big block just as much as pulling down a pivotal catch in the clutch.

“I just like them both,” Eller said. “Both blocking and catching is part of my job and I enjoy both.”

Eller played point guard in high school basketball, a position that wouldn’t seem to fit his body type. But he wasn’t always as formidable as he is now.

Eller was 5-foot-8 his freshman year and grew to 6-foot-3 when he graduated.

“I had good ball handling skills coming in,” Eller said. “And I just grew into this position. I feel like I still have room to grow. I need to become a better blocker next year.”

It’s one of many goals Eller isn’t soft on hoping to accomplish. Above all of them Eller wants to help the Panthers advance deep into the post season, ultimately a national title game.

“We’re not happy with just getting there,” Eller said. “We want to go all the way.”

*Editor’s note: Top Cat is a weekly series taking an in-depth look at Eastern’s top athlete from the previous week. Winners can be selected only once each year. Selection is made by the Daily Eastern News sports staff.