Tyler Shough Unfazed by Pre-Draft Age and Injury Concerns

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In recent weeks, Tyler Shough has been rocketing up NFL Draft boards.

For starters, the former Louisville quarterback put together a standout 2024 season during his final year in college, one which earned him an All-ACC honorable mention. Starting all 12 regular season games before opting out of the Sun Bowl, he completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

Since the end of the 2024 season and the start of the pre-NFL Draft process, Shough has done nothing but increase his draft stock. Not only was he named a top performer during the week of practice ahead of the Senior Bowl, ESPN's Louis Riddick recently went as far to say that he will be the "steal of the draft."

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal caller was recently tabbed as the No. 59 prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft by The Athletic, and he has a great chance ahead of him to back that hype up. Shough, along with three other Cardinals, are in Indianapolis this week for the annual NFL Scouting Combine.

While Shough's stock has been rapidly rising, just like when he hit the portal and transferred to Louisville, there is one question mark surrounding him that is still lingering - his injury history.

During his previous stop at Texas Tech, where he spent the 2021-23 seasons, Shough did not play a single season where he was completely healthy. He suffered a broken left collarbone in 2021, re-broke that same collarbone in 2022, then broke his fibula in 2023. Because of this, he played in just 15 during his three seasons as a Red Raider.

Not only was he able to play a fully healthy season in 2024 with Louisville, Shough credits the Cardinals' coaching staff as playing a "pivotal" role in his career - both in terms of his actual development as a quarterback, and simply giving an "injury-prone" quarterback a chance.

"I think both (head coach) Jeff (Brohm) and (quarterbacks coach) Brian (Brohm), they were pivotal in my career," he said Friday during his media availability at the combine. "They were former players and they believed in me, first and foremost. They believed in me to come in and lead the program off a couple of bone breaks, where there's a question mark on paper. But they understood, man. ... They're just like, 'Man, you're gonna be good. Like, we love what you do on tape.' I'm super in debt to them, just for what they did, and what they've done. They're phenomenal coaches, and I know they're gonna have a really good view this year.

But naturally, questions regarding his injury history still come up. However, Shough does not believe it is not as serious as many are led to believe, due mainly in part because of the circumstances of his injury.

"I think that's just a question mark, and that's really what I wanted to answer coming here," he said. "I only had two broken bones, I've never had any knee or back issues. I think the timeline just sucked more than anything, just kind of early on in those games and missing time."

"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. 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."

Additionally, Shough doesn't believe that his aforementioned injury history won't limit what he can do at the NFL level. He's a dual threat quarterback by nature, considering he ran for 432 yards and eight touchdowns while at Texas Tech in an offense that heavily utilized read options and QB power. However, Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm was much more conservative with Shough, and he only ran for 19 yards during his lone season as a Cardinal.

No matter what team drafts him, he believes that previous injuries won't hold him back and that he can execute their offense - whether that's through the air or on the ground.

"I think I can get it done in multiple ways," he said. "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.

"I think the biggest thing in the NFL is your longevity and your availability. It's critical, and I want to do whatever it takes to win and get the first down. But at the same time, playing at Louisville, I didn't take very many sacks because I was more aware of my check. I was more aware of how can I protect my body, and I think that was crucial for me. Rather than trying to just truck somebody on second or first down. You don't need to do that. Third down, fourth down, let's get it, and then let's keep moving."

Another question mark against him that some have raised is his age. Shough spent seven years in college, playing for Oregon over his first three years prior to his stints at Texas Tech and Louisville. For context, Shough is just a year-and-a-half younger than Justin Herbert, a former teammate at Oregon who has already played five seasons in the NFL.

While this wasn't a major issue when he transferred to Louisville, some have questioned if NFL teams wants to risk major draft capital on a prospect who is the same age as many NFL veterans. However, not only does Shough view his age as a positive, he believes teams hold the same view.

"I don't think the NFL considers it a negative," he said. "I haven't heard any questions about it thus far. I think I consider it a positive. I think quarterbacks play better into their 30's. It's kind of showed up time and time again. You see guys like Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr. and Jayden Daniels, who have gone through some stuff in their college career, and they've had success early on. You got guys like Sam Darnold, who's playing really well right now and he's into his late 20's, and (Aaron) Rodgers and all these guys. I feel like, as time gets going, you only mature and get better as a thrower."

On the surface, one could see that a quarterback prospect who has age and injury corners would be a major red flag. But, according to Shough, it has been the exact opposite. He has already had the chance to talk with several NFL organizations during the pre-draft process, and once he has been able to explain the context of his question marks, any potential concerns held by teams seem to have waned.

"I feel like I check a lot of those boxes for teams," he said. "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.

"Once I explain that to them, and they kind of understand it, and you go through that- especially coming in as a rookie, and not being scared of the spotlight, and not being scared of adversity, and try not to make mistakes. I think, more than anything, I feel confident in that."

When you combine the high-level experience he has in multiple difference systems, his maturity due to his age, plus his athletic and mental intangibles, Shough is not lacking any confidence heading into the combine. In fact, in a draft class that features Cam Ward, Sheduer Sanders and others, he went as far to say he's "the best quarterback in the class."

"I think just the combination of what I've gone through mentally and experience-wise, and then my physical tools," he said. "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."

(Photo of Tyler Shough: Clark Wade - IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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