Tyler Shough is a rising star at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.
The 2025 second-round pick showed flashes as a rookie, and now he’s off to a great start to his second season.
He set an all-time franchise record for the Saints in Week 1 with the most passing yards a Saints player has ever had between the second half and overtime of a game — now topping a chart that features Drew Brees in spots 2-through-10.
It’s not a guarantee that Shough is a star, but he’s got the potential. He can really spin it, and he moves well, too.
But every time he plays, something stands out.
His last name isn’t pronounced the way you’d expect it to be.
Tyler Shough Name Pronounced
Tyler Shough’s last name is pronounced like “shuck.”
It doesn’t rhyme with other words, like cough, that end with the same spelling.
Why Is It Pronounced Like That?
Shough actually was asked about this soon after he was drafted, so he was a legitimate explanation.
“It’s literally impossible to pronounce it if you don’t know it,” Shough told Sports Illustrated. “It’s all good.”
Shough pointed to the roots of the name:
“It should be Shuck, but it’s European, Scottish—I don’t know. It’s hard to learn or hard to say, but once you learn it, it’s pretty easy.”
The Scottish origin gives the “-gh” ending more of a guttaral sound, like a “-ch” or “-ck.”
Tyler Shough Age
Shough is 26 years old and will turn 27 on Sept. 28, 1999.
That’s one of his most well-known features beside the pronunciation of his name.
He was the oldest QB in the 2025 NFL Draft class.
He’s actually older than his backup, Spencer Rattler, who was drafted a year earlier than him.
Shough spent time in college as Justin Herbert’s backup at Oregon. That’s how long he was around in the NCAA.
Injuries kept Shough in college, and he played at Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville before being drafted.
His arm talent and athletic ability were never in question, though. By his final college season, Shough proved everything he could do.
It was enough to get him a second-round nod from the Saints. Now it’s up to Shough to create his own luck and make the New Orleans franchise QB job his for years to come — then everyone will know how to say his last name.
Tyler Shough’s Name Pronunciation, Explained: Why Saints QB Sounds Like ‘Shuck’