Overview

Position: QB

College: Louisville

Class: Senior

Age: 25

 

Measurables

Height: 6’4 7/8”

Weight: 219 lbs.

Arm length: 30 3/4″

Hand size: 9 3/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.63 sec.

10-yard split: 1.61 sec.

Vertical jump: 32.0”

Broad jump: 117.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Prototype size. Great vision with the confidence to rip in-breaking throws at the intermediate level. Tremendous touch to layer throws over the middle. Will place throws on the back hip to keep targets from running into contact. Plenty of arm strength to attack down the field. Deep ball is generally accurate when receivers get a clear step. Comfortable sliding to buy time for a downfield shot with a clean pocket. Throws a very catchable ball and lays it up down the field for receivers to make a play on it. Very accurate hitting deeper intermediate routes outside the numbers. Has accuracy and arm strength to throw out routes from the opposite hash. Quick release with an ability to speed it up when needed. Able to lower his arm angle to make throws. Great accuracy and touch between the numbers. Excellent ball placement deep between the numbers to throw over and/or away from coverage. Solid accuracy on slants. Hits targets in stride on crossing routes and wheel routes up the field. Accurate on hitches both on the perimeter and between the numbers. Drives the ball working tight ends down the seam. Good accuracy and feel on stick routes. Nice general feel for hitting tight ends underneath versus zone coverage. Experience with play-action concepts from heavy personnel groupings. Quality touch and timing on screen passes. Shows natural accuracy throwing off platform and off his back foot. Impressive touch to throw over defenders to the sideline while rolling out to his right. Very good accuracy on designed rollouts. Excellent accuracy on the move to his left. Accurate throwing across his body going to his left. Very good mobility in the pocket. Great fundamentals keeping two hands on the ball while sliding up in the pocket. Will look to escape pressure and scramble. Really wants to get rid of the ball to avoid sacks. Arm talent to generate power on throws while being taken down. Above-average speed and natural athleticism to make things happen as a runner. Utilized on zone reads. Shows he will get down to protect himself.

 

Weaknesses

Will get stuck on reads too long. Quicker pace through progressions will allow him to hit targets in stride more. Pressure clouds the picture for him. Needs to make better decisions when pressured. Will get rid of the ball recklessly without looking. Would like to see him step into throws with pressure bearing down rather than fading and having his accuracy drop. Doesn’t really attack vertically when facing pressure. Needs to find his hot read rather than trying to always move versus pressure. Will get loose with his mechanics and miss throws by quite a bit. Needs to be better anticipating open corner routes on sail concepts. Seems to sometimes predetermine throws based on the preliminary look in coverage. Inconsistent downfield accuracy versus tighter coverage and will do a slight fadeaway at times. Too often misses an opportunity to attack deep from the pocket. Needs to be better locating the deep safety when throwing deep between the numbers. Could be quicker to see downfield opportunities as a scrambler. Lengthy injury history with two broken collarbones and a broken fibula from 2021 through 2023.

 

NFL comparison

Mason Rudolph

 

Conclusion

Overall, Shough is an accurate quarterback with prototype size, an ability to attack all three levels, and some playmaking potential. The key will be getting in a situation with a top offensive line to limit the issues he has versus pressure that could knock the offense off the tracks versus blitz-heavy defenses.

 

Big Board ranking: #98 | Positional ranking: #7