American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...
. Shough began his college career with the
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...
from 2018 to 2020 before transferring to Texas Tech in 2021.
Early life and high school career
Shough is a native of Chandler, Arizona and Glenn and Dana Shough's fourth of five children. Shough's parents met as students at
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
. His father Glenn is a retired police officer, currently teaching criminal justice with driver’s education, and his mother Dana is a retired educator. In 2009, Dana was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
His elder sisters attended Hamilton High School in
Chandler, Arizona
Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...
, where Shough and his younger brother Brady played in the football program. According to the family, he was friends with future
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
Cody Bellinger
Cody James Bellinger (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball center fielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was selected ...
while they were students at Hamilton.
Shough became the starting varsity quarterback as a junior at the high-profile Hamilton High School football program in the 2016 season. His performance garnered an honorable mention in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
's 6A Premier League, listed in the 6th toughest football regions in the nation. The team ended their season in the 6A quarterfinals with a 7–5 record, the worst in the school's history until they scored 3–7 in 2018.
As a senior, Shough played for Hamilton in its 2017 season when allegations of
hazing
Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
were publicized, which resulted in the conviction of three players and the permanent reassignment of three administrators, including head coach
Steve Belles
Steve Belles (born November 21, 1966) is a former American football quarterback with the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. He subsequently became a high school football coach in Arizona, amassing five state championships at Hamilton ...
, to
Chandler Unified School District
Chandler Unified School District serves most of the city of Chandler, Arizona, plus portions of Gilbert, and Queen Creek. The district serves over 45,000 students, making it the 3rd largest school district in Arizona.Semper Fidelis All-American, from the
US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. Hamilton had an overall 15–9 record with Shough as a starter setting school records with the most losses, completions, attempts, yards, and touchdowns in the school's 20-year history.
Shough was a highly sought after player being a consensus 4-star pro-style quarterback by both
Scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
and
247Sports
247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount.
The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...
. Scout ranked him 16th best at quarterback and 183rd best player overall nationwide. Multiple athletic scholarships were offered from
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, and
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. After an initial verbal commitment to
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
in June 2017, Shough signed an early
letter of intent
A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...
to
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
in December 2018.
College career
Oregon
Shough appeared in three games, and played eighteen snaps before redshirting the rest of the season.
As a redshirt freshman, Shough served as the Ducks backup quarterback during the 2019 season behind
Justin Herbert
Justin Patrick Herbert (born March 10, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, where he won the 2019 Pac-12 Championship and was named ...
, finishing the season with 144 yards and three touchdowns in eight games played off the bench.
Going into 2020, Oregon head coach
Mario Cristobal
Mario Manuel Cristobal (born September 24, 1970) is head football coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team at the University of Miami.
Cristobal previously was the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 2007 to 20 ...
indicated early that Shough would be the starting quarterback (vacated by
Justin Herbert
Justin Patrick Herbert (born March 10, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, where he won the 2019 Pac-12 Championship and was named ...
being moved to the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL)).
Oregon and the other
Pac-12
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
conference member schools began play in November with strict policies regarding testing, positivity rate, and contact tracing for the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Shough became the starter, winning the season opener against Stanford 35-14. Shough started every game including the
Pac-12 Championship Game
The Pac-12 Football Championship Game is an annual college football game held by the Pac-12 Conference to determine the season's conference champion. The game from the 2011–2021 seasons had the champion of the North Division against the champi ...
, a 31–24 win against
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
.
Shough's performance was questioned when the heavily-favored Oregon team lost back-to-back games against
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
and
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Due to the losses, Oregon would not have made it to the Pac-12 championship if
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
had not cancelled a regular season game against Oregon due to COVID-19 restrictions, a game that would have decided the Pac-12 North race between Oregon and Washington. Despite Shough starting the Pac-12 Championship Game against USC,
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
transfer Anthony Brown began to take offensive series.
Oregon was selected to the
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...
held in
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325.
History
In the la ...
, which is inside the
Phoenix Metropolitan Area
The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix (known by most locals simply as “the Valley”) – is the largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the city ...
where Shough grew up. The opponent was
Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
led by quarterback
Brock Purdy
Brock Richard Purdy (born December 27, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa State University and was selected by the 49ers with the fina ...
of
Gilbert, Arizona
Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located southeast of Phoenix within the city's metropolitan area. Incorporated on July 6, 1920, Gilbert was once known as the "Hay Shipping Capital of the World". It is the fifth-larg ...
. Oregon lost the game but the 98-yard touchdown drive orchestrated by Brown made the quarterback position uncertain.
On February 12, 2021, Shough had entered the NCAA Transfer Portal with three years left for eligibility.
Texas Tech
On February 22, 2021, Shough announced that he was transferring to
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
. Arriving at Texas Tech, Shough battled for the starting quarterback position against senior Henry Colombi and freshmen Maverick McIvor, Donovan Smith, and Behren Morton. In the team's spring game, Shough led the team in passing, finishing 8-of-15 for 106 yards. On August 24, head coach Matt Wells announced that Shough would be the starter for the team's week one game against
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. In his first start for Texas Tech, Shough finished 17-of-24 for 231 yards with one touchdown along with a rushing touchdown as the Red Raiders won 38–21. During the team's week 4 game against
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, Shough broke his collarbone.
Prior to the 2022 season, Shough was in a competition for the starting quarterback position against sophomore
Donovan Smith
Donovan Cole Smith (born June 23, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seco ...
. On August 21, Shough was named the team's week one starter against
Murray State
Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...
. Against Murray State, Shough exited the game after the first quarter due to a possible injury and did not return to the game. It was later announced that Shough had injured his left shoulder and would be out for at least two weeks. In the regular season finale against
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, Shough finished with a career-high 436 passing yards in the 51–48 overtime victory. In the
Texas Bowl
The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced ...
against Ole Miss, Shough finished the game with 242 passing yards and a touchdown along with a career-high 111 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 42–25 victory, being named the game's MVP.
Statistics
Personal life
Shough is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. In 2019, Shough was baptized with
Justin Herbert
Justin Patrick Herbert (born March 10, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, where he won the 2019 Pac-12 Championship and was named ...