Image credit: ClutchPoints

Dane Brugler uncovers Tyler Shough-Brock Purdy connection before 2025 NFL Draft

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints
By Matty Breisch | Last updated Apr 18, 2025 10:22 PM ET

Tyler Shough isn’t your typical NFL Draft prospect.

Standing 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, with a huge arm and NFL athleticism, Shough is one of the more well-traveled players in college football history, appearing in three games for Oregon before transferring to Texas Tech in 2021, and finally finishing out his career at Louisville as a seventh-year senior.

Call it a benefit of extra COVID years or the fact that he had some bad luck with injuries, but Shough never appeared in more than seven games before 2024, when he led the Cardinals to a 9-4 record while remaining a huge question mark. And yet, at Louisville, Shough put it all together, completing 244 of his 389 passing attempts for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns versus only six interceptions.

While some teams like Shough’s experience, others wonder about his runway, as he’d be starting his rookie season at the same age some players are looking to sign their second professional deals.

Need proof? Well, look at this picture of Shough with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy posted by Dane Brugler, who was actually in the same graduating class as the future draftee all the way back in 2017.

Tyler Shough…and a fan. pic.twitter.com/uN9BVSyuI7

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 19, 2025

In Brugler’s NFL Draft manifesto, The Beast, the Athletic writer broke down the connection between Purdy and Shough, who have done much more than take a picture together.

“Tyler started playing sports, including baseball, basketball, and soccer, at age 5, He played flag football before advancing to pee wee ball, where he learned how to play quarterback,” Brugler wrote. “Shough played travel baseball for the Chandler Reds throughout middle school — he was teammates with Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers) and Cole Bellinger (2017 MLB Draft pick and older brother of Cody) and was coached by former major leaguers Clay Bellinger and Jamie Brewington. Shough and Purdy also had the same quarterback coach (Dan Manucci).”

Gosh, Shough is just entering the NFL when Purdy is about to become one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL? Goodness, the NFL works in mysterious ways sometimes, doesn’t it?

Widely expected to be drafted somewhere between 30-40 in the 205 NFL Draft, with every QB-needy team being linked to a trade for the Louisville product by one outlit or another, it’s clear Purdy and Shough will both soon be members of an elite fraternity of players who can call themselves NFL quarterbacks. How their careers continue to develop, however, will be a story fans from their home state of Arizona will watch closely, especially considering Shough could quite literally end up going to any team in the NFL, including Purdy’s 49ers.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: