Saints QB1 or not, Tyler Shough believes in his NFL future

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Keeping his dream alive meant considering another school and another move, and Shough wondered if he needed a backup plan. Texas Tech's then-offensive coordinator, Zach Kittley, offered to have him join the coaching staff if he was ready to give up playing. But others told him he should enter the NFL draft immediately. "You'll get signed or picked up. You're smart, you got a good arm, but you're too old. You're not going to increase your draft stock," Shough recalled being told by some critics. Landry Klann, Shough's coach at QB Country, a quarterback training and development company, was among those who saw the benefits of another collegiate season. "He was one of the guys that just believed in me," Shough said. "He was like, 'Screw that: If you don't play well or you get hurt, then you're going to be in the same situation you are now, which is fine. You'll get an opportunity, but if you play good then you're going to increase your chances.'" Shough entered the transfer portal for the second time and signed with Louisville for his final college season. He started all 12 games for the Cardinals and set career highs for passing touchdowns (23) and passing yards (3,195) before going on to play in the Senior Bowl, participate in the NFL scouting combine and hear his name called on Day 2 of the draft. That seventh season of college became a year of appreciation for Shough. "I had that perspective of just gratitude to be in this position, and it kind of lit a fire underneath me," Shough said. "I want to give everything I can to the city of New Orleans and my teammates because I know what I have to offer, and I want to go out there and work my butt off." TYLER WAS BORN into a family of sports fanatics. His parents, Dana and Glenn, both played three sports growing up; his older sisters were high school athletes; and his younger brother, Brady, played football as well. Dana told ESPN that Tyler was "born with a ball in his hands." Tyler and Brady spent their summers playing multiple sports. "You're working for six hours of baseball, then an hour with football, and then you want to come home and you want to do more sports," Brady told ESPN. "And so, it's just to show that he's willing to do anything and everything. ... Looking back on it now, it kind of just shows that he's really the same way now." Tyler credits his parents for his approach on life. Dana was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2006 and was given a terminal diagnosis of nine months, but as of January, it'll be 20 years since her cancer diagnosis. Tyler said the way his parents handled that challenging time taught him how to manage his own struggles later on. "Just a lot of stuff where you feel like it's out of your control, but trusting in God and his plan for you, and I think that was really, it showed me a lot at the young age where life's going to happen, and you got to respond to it because it's going to, how you respond is going to dictate more than about your own behavior and the people around you. ... It kind of paralleled what I would go through later in my life," Tyler said. Dana emphasized that 2006 was "probably the hardest year of our lives," but recalled a talk that she had with Tyler's father at the time -- they used their village to show their children how to handle adversity. "I had friends and family that stepped up and helped out, and I was so appreciative. So Tyler got to see that too, that it's not just you going through it," Dana said. "What he went through [with the injuries], his dog helped him; his wife, Jordan, helped him; his extended family; and his teammates; and the trainers. It takes a village sometimes to get through stuff, but ... I feel like I'm a better person. I feel like Tyler is a better person. As a mom, would I want him to go through all that? No. But I think it was meant to be." By the time Tyler entered high school in 2014, those around him considered him an "old soul" beyond his years. In his senior year at Hamilton High School, head football coach Steve Belles was removed from his position in the spring due to a hazing scandal. Dick Baniszewski stepped in as interim coach for a season, leaning on Tyler and team leaders to get them through the fall. With the media spotlight on the team in the wake of the scandal, Baniszewski emphasized that they could not afford to make any off-the-field mistakes. When he conveyed that sentiment, Tyler responded: "I'm with you coach, I'll make everyone understand." "Everybody expected Hamilton to not do good that year, and we had a great season, and it was really a lot because we had a kid like Tyler who I could confide in, and he was beyond his years to be able to convey [my message] to the kids," Baniszewski said. The team finished 8-4 and lost in the 6A quarterfinals. Tyler signed with Oregon in December following the 2017 season, enrolling that January after graduating high school in 3½ years. Through all the adversity for Tyler and his family, Dana recalls a life lesson that still applies for her children today. "When stuff gets tough, that's when you got to dig deep and get some grit. A fighter's mentality as we call it," Dana said. JORDAN URGES ANYONE who will listen not to mistake Tyler's gratitude or sense of self for complacency -- he wants the Saints' No. 1 quarterback job. "Sometimes people hear it too and they're just like, 'Oh, do you just not want it bad enough?' And it's like, 'No.' It's like we're still going to fight to the death to make this work," Jordan said. "We want this more than anything." So far, Tyler has done all the right things. With Jordan's encouragement, he flew to New Orleans almost as soon as the draft ended in April, intending to get to know his teammates right away. He took advice on local restaurants to eat his first meal (at Drago's Seafood Restaurant) in the city and joked to reporters that he had already popped a tire in a New Orleans pothole. "I feel like I've got fully ingrained already," he quipped in May. Tyler said he sees Brees as someone he'd like to emulate, a quarterback who had success but has also imprinted an indelible mark on the New Orleans community. Tyler started working out at Tulane with several teammates prior to rookie minicamp, with injured tight end Foster Moreau working as a long-snapper. He quickly connected with tight end Juwan Johnson, a former teammate at Oregon, who he said has been like a big brother to him. "I've lived it now with him for a few years, and I understand how important the relationships outside of the football facility are," Jordan said. Tyler said Johnson, an undrafted rookie in 2020 who switched positions in the NFL, was also the kind of person he wanted to mold himself after. "Once I first got here ... he set up a lot of events and invited me to come to dinner with the tight ends or going to a movie or hanging with [him and] his wife," Tyler said. "A lot of that stuff seems small, but it's really big when it comes to being around people." Tyler also reached out to veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who approached him and a group of teammates, which included Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave, to work out in Oregon for three days during the offseason. Tyler designed the throwing scripts for the sessions, and in their downtime, everyone went to the lake. "Obviously, it's mandatory to be together inside the building, but when you can show that brotherhood, that camaraderie outside the building, I think that shows that you care about one another," Cooks said. TYLER KNOWS THERE are no guarantees of success in the NFL. Even with his second-round draft status, he'll have to put together consistently good days of practices to win the starting role. As the third week of camp begins, none of the quarterbacks has separated from the pack, although Shough appeared to have his best day in an intrasquad scrimmage Sunday. "Everyone wants to be out there on Sundays as a starting quarterback in the NFL," Saints coach Kellen Moore said. "That's every quarterback's goal and dream, and that should be it. Ultimately, one's going to play." They all have something to prove: Rattler wants his first NFL win after going 0-6 as a starter filling in for an injured Carr in a season in which coach Dennis Allen got fired. Haener wants to wipe away a disastrous start where he got pulled for Rattler in a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders. Wanting it won't simply be enough. The Saints' three preseason games will go a long way to determining who is ready to be an NFL starter. And Shough said he loves the work process and the nitty-gritty of putting a game plan together. Jordan joked that the couple has watched every YouTube video "in existence" of defensive coverages or throwing mechanics from quarterbacks such as Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. "If you fall in love with each day of going into work and having fun with that, then usually the results are good," Tyler said. "The majority of my career. I was rehabbing and working out and game planning off the field, and I kind of fell in love with that." And when they want to get away from football, they've immersed themselves in the community, taking their golden retriever, Murphy, who became a celebrity after making the draft-night coverage, on long walks. Jordan said their neighbors have been "amazing," bringing them food and hurricane preparation packets. If things work out in New Orleans long term, Tyler said he'd love to find ways to give back, noting that veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan set a "very easy blueprint to follow." Ideally, he'd love to help animals, too, Tyler said. "Especially because seeing how much Murphy has benefited us," Tyler said. "We've talked about it. It's like if we get to a second contract or something like that, we want to open up a pet hotel or dog shelter. I don't care if it doesn't make any money or a single cent. That's really cool." He added with a smile: "Shough's Shelter or something like that." At some point the Saints will choose from Shough, Rattler and Haener. If Shough isn't the winner this season, he won't give up anytime soon. It'll be just one more hurdle to overcome in what has already been a long journey. "I just want to be known as a guy that worked hard and was a good dude in the locker room," he said. "I've had a lot of different hats on my head as far as a starter, a backup, an injured guy, underdog or whatever. ... I think the greatest thing that I've kind of hung my own hat on is just being a great teammate and a great person and knowing that I'm not perfect, but any way I can, just have fun and be of service to people. "I want to have success on the field, but if you ask my teammates what they think of me, their response is what I care about, and that just comes with time and being who you are every day."