“Being a part of the resurgence of a perennially bad football team may be the best thing I will ever be a part of,” said Eby. He has been a four-year starter for the Lions, playing in all 40 games as the team rose to its best season since 1996, 8-2, in 2017. (In 2018 the team went 6-4.) He’s also a contributor off the field, as an amateur magician whose skills are put to use as team-building exercises.