Former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough named starter at Texas Tech

Texas Tech on Tuesday announced via press release that it has named former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough as its starting quarterback for the 2021 season.

Shough, a native of Chandler, Arizona, was a consensus four-star prospect out of high school and committed to play for Oregon. He was the top-ranked prospect in Arizona by most outlets after finishing a decorated high school career with 30 touchdowns to just five interceptions his senior year, along with 3,071 passing yards and a 62.4 percent completion rate.

He signed with Oregon during the early signing period, and in his freshman year he took a total of eight snaps en route to using a redshirt year. In 2019, his redshirt freshman year, Shough served as Oregon’s backup to then-starting quarterback Justin Herbert; he played in just five games that season and completed 12 of 15 pass attempts for 144 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

In 2020, Shough took over as Oregon’s starting quarterback and started all six of Oregon’s regular-season games. He finished near the top of the Pac-12 in multiple passing categories — second in total offense, fourth in passing yards per game and first in passing efficiency — with a completion percentage hovering around 63%, 1,559 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Shough also added 271 rushing yards on 66 attempts and two rushing touchdowns.

In Oregon’s Pac-12 Championship game, Shough completing eight of 15 passes for 91 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Evidently, that performance was enough for Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal to shorten Shough’s leash in the Fiesta Bowl against Iowa State. He completed seven of nine passes against the Cyclones, good for 79 yards, and even led Oregon on a touchdown drive. But after throwing an interception, he was benched for Anthony Brown.

Shough on Feb. 12 announced his decision to enter the transfer portal after his lone season as Oregon’s starting quarterback. He graduated from Oregon in three years.

Ten days after announcing that he’d enter the portal, Shough committed to Texas Tech. He won the starting job over quarterbacks Henry Colombi, Donovan Smith and Behren Morton.

“As I’ve said for several months now, this is the most talented our quarterback room has been since we arrived here at Texas Tech,” Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells said. “After evaluating the entire body of work, we feel as a staff that Tyler gives this team the best chance to win. He is well-respected by his teammates, a tireless worker and has developed a strong understanding of what we want to do as an offense.”

The Texas Tech Red Raiders kick off their season against Houston on Sept. 4.