Football

'Trusting in the Lord,' former Oregon QB Tyler Shough transfers to Texas Tech

By Joshua Doering Feb 24, 2021
Quarterback Tyler Shough while at Oregon. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

After three years at the University of Oregon, quarterback Tyler Shough announced this week that he is transferring to Texas Tech. Shough has already finished two undergraduate degrees, making him a graduate transfer with three years of eligibility remaining.

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He released a statement on Feb. 12 saying he had entered the transfer portal, and in the caption included “Hebrews 11:1,” which reads, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

“Thank you to my teammates and brothers for making this place a home,” Shough wrote. “I will forever cherish the bonds we have built together. Once a Duck, Always a Duck. I am trusting in the Lord, and excited to announce that I will be entering the transfer portal.”

Shough spent his first two years in Eugene as a backup to current Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert before earning the starting job this past season. He completed 63.5 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,559 yards and 13 touchdowns as the Ducks won the Pac-12 for the second year in a row.

His best game of the season came in Oregon’s 38-35 win over UCLA, when he threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns without turning the ball over. In both the conference championship game and Fiesta Bowl loss to Iowa State, Shough shared snaps with Anthony Brown.

A native of Chandler, Arizona, Shough’s life has been shaped in large part by two events that occurred within a few weeks of each other back in 2006: the passing of his 19-year-old brother, and then his mom, Dana, being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She has tried to use her battle with cancer to set an example for Tyler, who was 5 at the time, and his siblings.

“I share with my kids that you can get through anything as long as you have a positive attitude, a will to live, and the grace of God,” she told the East Valley Tribune in 2016.

In May 2019, Shough was baptized along with Oregon teammate Mycah Pittman. “So thankful and excited for what He has planned,” Shough wrote in his social media post at the time, and he now regularly references his faith publicly. He has “Jeremiah 29:11” listed in his Twitter bio, a verse that reads, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'”

At Texas Tech, Shough joins veteran Henry Colombi and incoming four-star recruit Behren Morton as the primary options at quarterback entering the 2021 season. The Red Raiders are scheduled to begin their season Sept. 4 at NRG Stadium against the University of Houston.

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