For many 25-year-olds, a job interview might involve them looking for a new opportunity, or perhaps a step up the corporate ladder.
For Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough, his run through the long and strange process that is the NFL Draft, described as many as the world’s oddest job interview, is a matter of him looking for his first.
Shough spent seven years in college, beginning his collegiate journey as a backup at Oregon, where he spent his first three seasons. He then transferred to Texas Tech and ultimately Louisville, where his final season of college football has put him firmly in the discussion as a potential first-round selection.
Even if the quarterback he backed up at Oregon, Justin Herbert, is less than two years older than him despite having a wealth of NFL experience under his belt.
“I feel like I check a lot of those boxes for teams,” Shough said of his age and injury history when meeting with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine. “The media knocks on me for the age and injury history, but I think once teams understand that, one, I think the age and experience is a positive, and two, the injury history isn’t really an injury history. It’s just I had a couple broken bones, and it hasn’t affected me. I think, if anything, it’s helped me out.”
Let’s dive into that long road to the NFL Draft for the Louisville product, before outlining why he still might hear his name called on Thursday night.
Tyler Shough’s long road to the NFL Draft
During his recruiting cycle, Shough was considered a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 2 quarterback in Arizona. He took over as the starting quarterback at Hamilton High School in Chandler as a junior, and the team finished with a 7-5 record.
The year was 2016.
While the team’s performance saw their season end in the 6A quarterfinals, Shough’s personal production put him on the radar of programs across the country. Considered one of the top pro-style quarterbacks in the 2018 Recruiting Class, Shough entertained offers from several top programs, including Georgia and Alabama. He even gave an initial verbal commitment to North Carolina in the summer before his senior year.
He ultimately reversed course, committing to Oregon the next winter.
Shough saw spot action during his first year in Eugene, playing in three games before redshirting the rest of the 2018 season. But he entered the 2019 campaign as the backup to Herbert, who was a senior, and the “heir apparent” at quarterback for the Ducks. In backup duty Shough played in eight games, completing 12-of-15 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns. He saw significant action in Oregon’s blowout win over Nevada, where he completed 8-of-9 passes for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Athletic did a deep dive into his extended action that Saturday, which you can dive into here.
Eventually, Herbert found his way to the Los Angeles Chargers, and Shough entered the 2020 season as the anointed starting quarterback.
Then, the world changed.
The global COVID-19 pandemic saw the Pac-12 wait to begin play until November, using a shortened schedule. Shough guided the Ducks to a win in their season opener over Stanford, and Oregon began the year with three consecutive wins. But back-to-back losses to Oregon State and California dropped the Ducks to 3-2 and had many wondering if Shough was the heir apparent that was promised.
Oregon’s sixth scheduled game against Washington was canceled as the Huskies dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak, and instead of that game deciding who would represent the Pac-12 North in the conference title game, Oregon was awarded the spot.
Shough started that game against USC, but transfer quarterback Anthony Brown saw significant action in Oregon’s win over the Trojans. While Shough got the start against Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl, Brown saw significant playing time. The 98-yard touchdown drive Brown orchestrated in the second quarter changed the discussion in Eugene around the QB position, as did Brown finishing the day as Oregon’s leading passer.
Weeks later Shough entered the transfer portal.
Shough announced on February 22, 2021, that he was transferring to Texas Tech, and entered a three-way fight for the starting quarterback spot that spring.
In August head coach Matt Wells announced that Shough would be the team’s starting quarterback, and the Red Raiders began the year with three straight wins.
Their fourth game, against Texas, saw the latest hurdle in Shough’s career. The quarterback threw a Pick Six in the second quarter and was injured on the play. The diagnosis was a broken collarbone.
Shough returned to action for the 2022 season and was again the starting quarterback for the Red Raiders to open the season. But he reinjured the collarbone in Week 1.
He did not return until late October, but was the team’s starting quarterback down the stretch, and completed 24-of-39 passes for 242 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in Texas Tech’s 42-25 win over Mississippi in the Texas Bowl.
“I had a broken (left) collarbone in 2021 that I didn’t get surgery on, and then the first time I got hit again, it broke. Once I got surgery, I was back running quarterback counter and power, and it hasn’t affected me since,” said Shough at the Combine.
2023 was supposed to be different for Shough, but it was unfortunately more of the same. Texas Tech began the year with him as the starting quarterback, but also with losses to Wyoming and Oregon. A 41-3 win over Tarleton State helped right the ship, but Shough was not exactly impressive in the victory, completing 10-of-20 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Then came their first conference game, and the latest injury.
On a second-down play early in the game against the Mountaineers he scrambled for a short gain and appeared to roll his ankle. On the next snap, Shough dropped to throw and looked to roll that ankle again after throwing a pass, and dropped to the turf.
He stayed down and was eventually carted off with an air cast around his lower left leg. He had broken his fibula.
“Then I got hip dropped (in 2023). There wasn’t really anything I could do to prevent it, but if anything, like I said before, it kind of helped me out mentally, and how to be a coach, and add value off the field and still try and be a leader,” described Shough at the Combine.
Shough’s season was over. He had six years of college football under his belt, but again he was looking for a new home.
Shough eventually found that, transferring to Louisville to play under Jeff Brohm. But at the time Shough signed with the Cardinals, there were already questions about signing a quarterback with that injury history and six years of college football under their belt.
Brohm dismissed those as “unlucky times,” before praising Shough’s talent.
“We studied exactly what they were,” Brohm said in February of 2024. “We’ve had him in for a physical. We analyzed everything he had. We went through it in great detail. He’s had some unlucky times that happened during the season that have caused him to miss some action. That sometimes happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. We’ve all had injuries throughout our time.
He has a great deal of talent,” Brohm said of Shough. “He’s very skilled; he can throw the football. He can see the field. He’s 6-foot-4 ½, 6-5, and he’s played a lot of football. And, when he’s played, he’s played well, so those are all great elements to add to your football team.”
Brohm’s words seem prophetic now.
Shough’s final year in college — and his only year at Louisville — was the season he put all of his promise and potential together. He completed 62.7% of his passes for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns, against just six interceptions. He led Louisville to an 8-4 record, and while he opted out of the team’s bowl game, he played in every other contest this season.
It has been a long and winding road for Shough to the draft, and he is set to turn 26 early during his rookie season. His status as an older prospect — he would turn 30 during his fifth NFL season — coupled with that injury history has created some questions.
But Shough thinks how he has handled his long road speaks volumes.
“I think just the combination of what I’ve gone through mentally and experience-wise, and then my physical tools,” he said at the Combine. “I’ve played less ball than some of the guys here, even though I’m older, just because of the situation I’ve been in. So I feel like there’s a lot of untapped potential for me. I feel like the sky’s the limit.
“I think what has happened in my past has only gave me that passion to keep going further. It lit this little fire underneath me, that I want to go out there and prove myself right: that I am one of the one of the best guys. I think if you watch the tape, and watch what I can do, you’ll see a lot fo great stuff, and a lot of stuff that I can improve. I feel like I have a high floor, but I have an even higher ceiling.”
Why Tyler Shough might still be a first-round pick
Even with this extensive injury history, and his “advanced” age as a prospect, Shough is discussed as a potential first-round selection.
Why?
Part of it is the need for and importance of, the quarterback position around the league. Several teams enter the 2025 NFL Draft hoping to bolster their quarterback rooms, and while two at the top of the draft — the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants — might pass on quarterbacks inside the top five, they are teams that could trade back into the first round to draft a QB and secure that desired fifth-year option.
But a major part of Shough’s story is what he can do with his arm. While he has flashed some athleticism and mobility during his career, what he can do from the pocket stands out.
Take this play against N.C. State, and watch how Shough uses his eyes to freeze the single-high safety in the middle of the field, before ripping a backside Bang-8 post route:
Or this touchdown against Miami, as he fits in the throw away from the leverage of the safety:
Then there is this touchdown Shough delivers against Jacksonville State, as he hangs in the face of pressure in the pocket before delivering a well-placed throw on a crossing route for a score:
Still, the ability to react to pressure remains a prerequisite for a quarterback in the NFL today. While Louisville did not use Shough much as a runner, he still can beat pressure in the pocket a few different ways. On this play against SMU, Shough evades pressure by first climbing the pocket and then rolling to his right. He keeps his eyes downfield, and delivers a deep throw on a corner route that turns into an 86-yard touchdown:
Then there is this play, that will absolutely be featured when Shough is drafted. Facing pressure against SMU in the low red zone, he escapes the pocket to his left, but finds a way to drop his arm angle while rolling to the left to make this throw:
There are different ways quarterbacks can avoid pressure, whether through athleticism or adjusting their arm angle, and Shough has shown the ability to do both.
“I think I can get it done in multiple ways,” Shough said in Indianapolis. “Obviously, I was running a lot more designed quarterback runs at Texas Tech, and that just wasn’t part of the offense at Louisville. I think I excelled in both ways, whether that’s extending plays with my feet, or creating plays and getting those those first downs, and getting down.”
Are these traits enough to overlook that age and injury history?
In this draft cycle, they just might be.