Tyler Shough, Ja'Corey Brooks Named to Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List

The newcomers for Louisville are expected to be two of the Cardinals' top offensive playmakers during the upcoming 2024 season.

Louisville’s Ja'Corey Brooks (1) runs to catch the ball during Spring Practice on Thursday. / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville football quarterback Tyler Shough and wide receiver Ja'Corey Brooks have both been named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award, College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) announced Wednesday.

While Shough has dealt with several injuries over the course of his career, when healthy, the Texas Tech transfer has more than proven that he is a capable quarterback. In 15 games over three seasons with the Red Raiders, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound signal caller completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2,922 yards and 20 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, while rushing for 432 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Chandler Ariz. native spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career with Oregon, guiding the Ducks to a Pac-12 Championship and berth in the Fiesta Bowl in his lone season as a starters in 2020. In 26 career games, he has completed 63.2 percent of his throws for 4,625 yards and 36 touchdowns to 17 interceptions, along with 714 yards and 10 scores on the ground. 

Brooks was limited to just three catches for 30 yards in nine games with the Crimson Tide this past season due to a shoulder injury, but the Alabama transfer has proven himself in the past to be a valuable asset. During the 2022 season, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver hauled in 39 receptions for 674 yards and team-best eight touchdowns for the Tide.

As a true freshman in 2021, Brooks caught 15 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, including a game-tying 28-yard catch in the final minute of Iron Bowl to help keep Alabama's College Football Playoff hopes alive, and a 44-yard score in the CFP Semifinal vs. Cincinnati. He was a five star prospect coming out of high school, regarded as the No. 27 player in the Class of 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite.

Following the end of the 2024 season, a panel of college football writers, editors, and sports information directors will vote on the three players who will be honored as Comeback Player of the Year Award winners. They will be announced at the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2024.

(Photo of Ja'Corey Brooks: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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