Ducks excited to take on former Oregon football quarterback Tyler Shough at Texas Tech
Though it won’t be within the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium, the Oregon football team will be preparing for a family reunion, of sorts, in its Saturday game in Lubbock against Texas Tech.
Roughly two and a half years after he announced he was leaving Eugene, former starting quarterback Tyler Shough will lead the Red Raiders’ offense against his former team on his new home field.
When asked whether that would be a weird feeling for the guys that were on the 2020 Oregon team when Shough was the starter, several former teammates said they were looking forward to the matchup.
“Tyler is my boy,” cornerback Dontae Manning said. “It’s nothing but a little family reunion. That’s all it is.”
Shough played in every game of the Ducks’ pandemic-shortened 2020 season, completing 63.5% of his passes for 1,559 yards and 13 touchdowns with six interceptions. He also rushed for 271 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Ducks in rushing attempts as a quarterback.
Following that season, Shough opted to transfer and landed in Lubbock, where he’s struggled to stay healthy but has been productive when he’s taken the field. Shough was unbeaten, a perfect 8-0, in games he’d started and finished at Texas Tech until last week’s loss to Wyoming on the road.
Despite the overtime loss, Shough tossed for 338 yards on 31-of-47 passing with three touchdowns and a pick.
Oregon senior safety Steve Stephens IV, who was roommates with Shough during each’s freshman season in 2019, said the two have had friendly interactions on social media over the years and that Saturday’s game will feel a lot like practices years ago when the two battled at Oregon.
“It’s going to be fun in a different uniform,” Stephens said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him. It’s going to fun to see his growth. He’s been gone for a few years now so it’s going to be fun to see how much he’s stepped into that QB1 role and that leadership role and seeing how much he’s grown from my perspective to where he is now.”
While Stephens knows Shough well, he says the team won’t look back too much on Shough’s tendencies when he was at Oregon three years ago.
“I’m not sure if I’d go that far back in time,” he said. “But I just know he’s a really intelligent player and very instinctive.”
Bryan Addison, another longtime Duck that was making the transition from receiver to defensive back during the 2020 season, is also looking forward to the matchup.
After catching passes from Shough early in his career, to lining up against him in practice, Addison is excited about the opportunity ahead of Oregon’s first road game of the 2023 season.
“Me and Tyler are close,” he said. “We don’t talk often but when we do it's always mutual. For us to go at it on a big stage is going to be a lot of fun.”
The Ducks take on the Red Raiders at 4 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock. The game will be televised on FOX.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, women's basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon football excited to take on Texas Tech's Tyler Shough
