When Brock Purdy attended prom with 2025 NFL draft prospect Tyler Shough

The 2025 NFL draft is mere hours away, and the fate of many talented college football athletes will soon be decided as they find a team to start their dream NFL careers.

Among these is former Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough, a 25-year-old player from Chandler, AZ, who shares an interesting and intertwined history with San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy.

A fan account shared a picture from 2018 of the two young guys dressed for prom. The photo was captioned,

“Brock Purdy and Tyler Shough at prom. QB Tyler Shough btw is in this yrs draft.”

Purdy was dressed in a white suit and shirt paired with a black vest and pants. Meanwhile, Shough was dressed in a black suit and pants with a white shirt. Both wore black bow ties and boutonnière.

Although Purdy and Shough didn’t attend the same school, they were friends and rivals. While Shough studied at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Purdy was at Perry High School in Gilbert.

The Purdy-Shough rivalry wasn’t limited to football. They also played baseball and even played together during their eighth-grade club baseball season. Recalling this, Shough said,

“We were hitting 4-5 in the sweet spot,” according to Shough. “We had a lights out baseball team.” But Shough knew that they wanted to pursue football as a career. “I think we always knew that football was something we were going to end up playing.”

A contrasting tale of Brock Purdy and Tyler Shough

The two faced each other four times during their high school rivalry, with Purdy coming out on top on all four occasions. This included a massive 63–60 overtime victory in 2016.

Despite the 0–4 record, Shough was ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in Arizona and received offers from Alabama, Michigan, Arizona State, and ultimately committed to Oregon. Meanwhile, Purdy was ranked No. 12 in Arizona and had to wait a couple of months longer than his friend.

“For me, I was just patient with the process,” Purdy said, per KWVA. “I was thankful everything happened the way it did. It allowed me to find Iowa State as a home.”

However, things changed quickly once the two collegiate star QBs joined their respective colleges. In 2022, Purdy became one of the youngest quarterbacks to be drafted into the NFL.

On the contrary, Shough suffered multiple injuries that derailed his college career and extended it to seven years. At 25 years old, he is one of the oldest QBs to enter the NFL draft.