ESPN Analyst: Louisville QB Tyler Shough Will Be the 'Steal of the Draft'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2025 NFL Draft might be roughly two months away, but over the last week, Tyler Shough definitely made himself some money.

The former Louisville quarterback participated in the Reese's Senior Bowl last week, which is an annual all-star exhibition that allows some of the top upperclassmen in college football to put their talents on display in front of NFL scouts and front office personnel.

To say Shough took advantage of his time down in Mobile, Ala. would be an understatement. Not only did several draft analysts take note of his performance in the set of practices, he was voted as top quarterback for the National team during the week of practice by the participating defensive backs, and even threw a touchdown pass in the game itself.

Now, a well-known commentator and analyst is taking it a step further with the praise regarding Shough. In an interview on the Rich Eisen Show, ESPN's Louis Riddick went as far to say that the Louisville quarterback will be the "steal of the draft."

"I said it down there (in Mobile), I said it during the regular season, I'm gonna say it now. If you put him in an offense like Sean McVay's, like Kyle Shanahan's, like Kevin Stefanski's, this kid is going to be the surprise and steal of the draft, in particular, at quarterback," Riddick said.

"He can throw it, he is mobile, he's big, he's mature. He's a guy who's got a lot of mental horsepower, and he's a guy who's been coached by Jeff and Brian Brohm, who to me, right now, there is nobody better as far as tutoring quarterbacks for the pro game in all of college football. Remember that name."

Coming over from Texas Tech to play his final year of collegiate eligibility, Shough was able to play a full healthy season for the first time in his career, and it paid off massive dividends. Starting all 12 regular season games, Shough completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal caller was the 13th quarterback in school history to throw for 3,000 yards in a single season, most recently accomplished by Jack Plummer last year.

Shough spent the previous three seasons of his collegiate career at Texas Tech, but was unable to play a full season each year, and spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career with Oregon. In 26 career games, he has 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.

(Photo of Tyler Shough: Vasha Hunt - Imagn Images)

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