Texas Tech names Tyler Shough starting quarterback
The Texas Tech football team on Sunday named Tyler Shough its starting quarterback, giving the second-year transfer from Oregon the nod after a months-long competition with Liberty Bowl most valuable player Donovan Smith and promising redshirt freshman Behren Morton.
Tech coach Joey McGuire stuck to the timeline he outlined early in preseason practice, saying he wanted to name a starter after the team's second scrimmage, which was Saturday. That way, the starting quarterback can work with the first team on Tuesday, the beginning of a mock game week in preparation for the Sept. 3 season opener against Murray State.
Tech made the announcement via a brief clip on social media.
"I first want to praise all three of our quarterbacks as this was an unbelievable competition," Tech coach Joey McGuire said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "Tyler has played well and put our offense in position to be effective consistently throughout camp, which has earned him the right to be our starting quarterback. Tyler has a great football IQ and has really captured what we want this offense to look like with the type of responsibility we put on the quarterback.
"As I've said all along, though, we fully intend for Red Raider fans to see all three of these QBs throughout the season. This is as gifted a room as I've ever seen, and I'm willing to put the depth of our quarterback position against anyone else in the country. I know both Donovan and Behren will be ready when called upon as they have certainly earned the respect of myself and their teammates."
Shough, a 6-foot-5, 232-pound senior, began the 2021 season as Tech's starter and was the Big 12 passing leader before he suffered a broken collarbone while diving for a touchdown in the conference opener at Texas. He missed the last nine games. He completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 872 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions.
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Though Shough is a fifth-year senior, he has at least one more year of eligibility after this season — the optional year the NCAA awards all players who were on rosters during the COVID-disrupted 2020 season. He also could seek a medical hardship waiver for his injury-shortened 2021 season.
The choice was not unexpected. Since the beginning of spring and again after Saturday's scrimmage, several Avalanche-Journal sources had said Shough appeared likely to win the job.
The Red Raiders have an ideal situation behind him. Smith took over as the Red Raiders' primary quarterback in the ninth game last season and started the last four. He led Tech to upsets as heavy underdogs against Iowa State and Mississippi State. He finished with 1,181 yards and seven touchdowns passing and 155 yards and three TDs rushing.
Morton played only briefly last season, but the former Texas top-100 recruit has been impressive, according to those who have watched Red Raiders' preseason workouts.
Speaking to fans at the Knights of Columbus Tech Night on Saturday, McGuire said offensive coordinator Zach Kittley will never have a better room of quarterbacks.
"Donovan did a phenomenal job exorcising some ghosts in beating the Pirate (Mike Leach) in the Liberty Bowl," McGuire told the audience. "Behren Morton, if there's a more Red Raider growing up, West Texas kid, y'all tell me who it is, because that dude bleeds red and black and has got some serious arm talent.
"And Tyler Shough's one of the most intelligent kids I've ever been around when it comes to football IQ. So we've got a good problem. There's other places that have different problems. We are not one of them when it comes to quarterbacks."
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McGuire has said since June that he is committed to using Smith, because of the Frenship graduate's running talent and size at 6-5 and 240 pounds. He said Saturday there will be packages for all three quarterbacks that he wants to use in the season's first two games.
"We have dual-threat quarterbacks, so we're going to run the quarterback," McGuire said. "We're going to be smart about it, because we want to make sure they're healthy, but we're going to run the quarterback.
"I told (Kittley), 'You're never going to call a game and, if a shoe comes off, you're going to make me take a timeout because the next guy coming in is not as good.' I'm not going to have to worry about that, because the next guy coming in is as good, and he'll just take it and we'll take it and go down and score."
Tech players have a day off from practice on Monday.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech names Tyler Shough starting quarterback
