The Louisville football program's 2023 season might still have one more game left, but we already know who is likely going to be their starting quarterback for 2024.
On Tuesday, the Cardinals picked up a commitment from former Texas Tech and Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound signal caller spent three seasons with both the Red Raiders and the Ducks, with a medical hardship waiver paving the way for a seventh and final year in college.
When healthy, Shough (pronounced "Shuck") has more than proven that he is a capable quarterback. In 15 games with Texas Tech, he completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2,922 yards and 20 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, while rushing for 432 yards and eight touchdowns. Add in his time at Oregon, he completed 63.2 percent of his throws for 4,625 yards and 36 touchdowns to 17 interceptions, along with 714 yards and 10 scores on the ground in 26 career games.
Outside of those stat lines, what is Louisville getting in Shough? Let's break it all down by first going to the film.
One of the first things that stands out with Shough when watching film from Texas Tech, primarily in 2022, is that he is a true dual threat quarterback. He's a very physical runner who isn't afraid to lower his shoulder to both take and dish out contact, but also has good open field speed for a QB of his stature. His go-to as a runner are designed power runs, but also shines on standard read options.
What about his actual throwing ability? Shough has a slightly sidearm throwing motion that really comes out on short throws, and his release in terms of getting the ball out of his hands ranges from very snappy to slightly above average. He has a wide throwing base, but also has quick and agile footwork that allows him to move around the pocket very easily. More often than not, he's not your traditional three step drop back type of quarterback.
Without a doubt, where Shough really shines as a passer is on the deep ball. Not only does he put really good touch on it when he has to, he also has a high level of arm strength that pushes the ball far down field and hits receivers in stride more often than not.
While Shough's best work as a thrower comes here, and film suggests that he definitely prefers attempting intermediate/deep throws, he has shown good timing and accuracy on short throws, especially on swing passes and inside breaking routes. Shough also does a good job throwing on the run in the short/intermediate area of the field, and overall, appears to have zero issue completing passes to wide open pass catchers.
Because of this, some of Shough's best work actually comes on option plays. In particular, he is an incredibly deadly weapon on RPO's. He sells the option very well on these plays (as well as on standard read options and play action passes), and he can in turn take advantage of defenses selling out for the run and get the ball out quickly and accurately to receivers in space.
Shough has also shown that he can perform in some of the bigger games and bigger stages. During the 2022 season, he put up 480 total yards of offense and two touchdowns against Oklahoma, then 353 total yards and three touchdowns against Ole Miss in the Texas Bowl to be named the game's MVP.
There's a good reason why Shough was generating very real NFL buzz at one point in time. But, as many people know by now: there is one massive concern with Shough: his injury history. During his three seasons in Lubbock with the Red Raiders, he failed to play a full season. In 2021, it was a broken collarbone that ended his season just four games in. Last season, he missed a large chunk of the middle of the year due to another shoulder injury.
Most recently, he suffered a broken fibula just four games into the current season, but is expected to be 100 percent clear by January and a full go by the time spring practice kicks off. While all three of his major injuries appear to be freak accidents, it's very hard to ignore the potential of him getting re-injured, even if it is simply because of how unlucky he is.
Additionally, Shough has a *slight* issues with turnovers. Some throws have a tendency to be a bit under thrown even if it was the right decision to make, leading to more interceptions than you would probably like (36 career passing touchdowns to 17 career interceptions), though a TD/INT ratio of just over 2-to-1 isn't awful. As a runner, while he has 10 career rushing scores, that also comes with 10 career fumbles.
Is Shough a can't-miss quarterback transfer? Because of the injury history and slight propensity to turn the ball over, no. But there is plenty of reason for optimism with Shough. His actual game film shows a dynamic weapon that can attack defenses in a variety of way, and when he is healthy and available, he can dramatically lift the ceiling of the offense and has the potential to put insane numbers in Jeff Brohm's system.
It's clear that Brohm wanted to incorporate the deep passing and quarterback running game more in 2022, but was unable to really do so with Jack Plummer under center. Tyler Shough will allow Louisville to run what Brohm wants. Plus, there's always the chance that his commitment could sway running back Jawhar Jordan - his high school teammate - to return for one final season.
That being said, Brohm will have to continue developing either Pierce Clarkson or Brady Allen, or bring in another experienced transfer QB in case the injury big does bite Shough again. But even with that risk, Shough has the potential to be a phenomenal asset for the Louisville offense.
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