Scouting Profile: Tyler Shough - QB - Louisville
Sales Pitch: Prototypical pro-style passer with good arm talent. Will be a 26 year old rookie with a long injury history, but has the tools in a weak QB class to be worth a Day-2 dart throw.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Tyler Shough is a former 4-Star recruit from Arizona, all the way back in the Class of 2017. Shough, who originally committed to Oregon, has had a long winding collegiate career, spending three season at Oregon before transferring to Texas Tech, where he had three straight seasons cut short due to injury. Shough finally was able to make it through a full season in 2024 with Louisville, where he finished Top-20 in the FBS with 3,191 passing yards.
Shough possesses the ideal size and frame for a traditional pocket passer. He is a tall, solidly built player, with plus arm talent. He fits the mold of a prototypical pro-style passer with plus accuracy and touch to all three levels. Shough is an experienced passer who is capable of working through full field progressions. His ability to process pre and post snap gives him access to a full playbook. He did an excellent job protecting the ball in 2024, he was willing to use his checkdowns and didn’t force the ball into traffic. He ranked among the best quarterbacks in avoiding sacks with a sub-10% pressure to sack ration, doing an excellent job getting the ball out of his hands under pressure. Shough has a strong arm with the velocity to push tight windows down the field, even when late on his read. He has a flexible release that he can alter to navigate free rushers against the blitz. It also allows him to make throws on the run and off-platform without sacrificing accuracy. Shough is not an elite athlete but has the requisite movement skills to break the pocket and extend the play. He is a capable thrower on the move with good instincts in the scramble drill.
As a result of his injuries, Shough has only started 32 games in his career, giving him far less reps than the typical 7th year senior. There are still times where his processing and anticipation is not fast enough. His release is on the longer side and the extended load times combined with his average anticipation makes him late to drive the ball over the middle. Shough mostly runs into trouble when put under pressure. He is quick to fade off his back foot when color flashes in front of him and doesn’t display pocket toughness with heat bearing down on him. His internal clock gets quickly sped up far too quickly when his initial reads are taken away . Shough isn’t inclined to step up and navigate muddy pockets and tends to eject from clean pockets. His conservative nature did a good job limiting mistakes in 2024 but is also reduced the ceiling of the Louisville offense. While Shough is a good enough mover to break the pocket, he will never be a difference maker with his legs. An average at best athlete, he lacks the speed to beat defenders to the edge in space and move the chains with his legs.
Shough profiles best in a pro-style system. His ideal size and arm talent combined with solid three level accuracy gives him a respectable floor. A long injury history and average tools likely limit his draft ceiling, but he projects as a late Day-2 pick with low end starter upside.