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Texas Tech football: Senior Red Raiders on offense that we will hate to see go

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 14: Tahj Brooks #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders runs for a touchdown during the first half of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Jones AT&T Stadium on October 14, 2023 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 14: Tahj Brooks #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders runs for a touchdown during the first half of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Jones AT&T Stadium on October 14, 2023 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Texas Tech’s quarterback Tyler Shough (12) runs with the ball against Oregon, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Texas Tech’s quarterback Tyler Shough (12) runs with the ball against Oregon, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, at Jones AT&T Stadium. /

QB Tyler Shough was a blessing to the Texas Tech program

Despite the injuries, despite the up-and-down play, QB Tyler Shough was a positive influence on the Texas Tech football program during his three years in Lubbock.  Displaying leadership, professionalism, humility, and dedication, the former Oregon transfer was everything we could have asked for in a student-athlete.  That’s why he’s going to be missed as he moves on to the next portion of his life.

Sure, Shough never lived up to his full potential on the field.  That was due mostly to the three significant injuries he sustained during his Red Raider career.  In fact, he never made more than four consecutive starts for the program.

That’s what will make him the ultimate “What if?” case study.  When he played, he showed the ability to lead his team to wins.  Tech wound up going 8-2 in games he started and did not leave due to injury.

However, we never got to see even a half of a season with Shough at the helm of the offense.  Thus, his legacy is closer to that of Alan Bowman than it will be to anything else.

That doesn’t mean that Shough’s time with the Red Raiders should be looked upon negatively, though.  First of all, he led the team to a 4-game winning streak at the end of 2022 to give Tech its first 8-win season since 2013 and he did that after returning from a broken collarbone sustained in the first game of the season.

Second, he was an unquestioned leader and a strong locker-room presence from the moment he stepped on campus.  Finally, he displayed every quality we would ever want a representative of Texas Tech to possess.

It’s just that he couldn’t deliver on the field.  What’s most frustrating, is that his inability to do so was because of random injuries and nothing else.

Still, I’ll miss Tyler Shough the person and the representative of Texas Tech.  Though we never got to see what his capabilities as a QB are, we did get to see the type of person he is and that’s the type of person I want with the Double T on his chest.

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